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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22906834">Partners</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/imasouleater/pseuds/imasouleater'>imasouleater</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>RE 2 Remake: Scenario A or B [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bio Organic Weapons | B.O.W.s, Bisexual Characters, Bisexual Male Character, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Dry Humping, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Fingering, Zombies, bisexual oc, clothed grinding, dont worry its not too bad just a warning if youve seen the games lol, fluffy moments between the carnage, honestly this smut is tame, ooc is most likely gonna happen lol, see my intro inside for more details, self indulgent shit, smuts at the end so here are those tags, sorry if you were looking for some hardcore intercourse lol, you really think im not gonna do it to him?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:33:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>100,172</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22906834</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/imasouleater/pseuds/imasouleater</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A survivor makes it to the Raccoon Police Department during a zombie outbreak to find safety. Instead, she finds herself on a dangerous journey with a new friend as they try and find a way out of the hellscape. Only, that's not the only thing she finds. Counterpart to Claire's B route. (Even though there's an OC in the story, I added the reader tag so that those who love self shipping can enjoy the scenario with Leon!)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Leon S. Kennedy/Original Character(s), Leon S. Kennedy/Original Female Character(s), Leon S. Kennedy/Reader, or female oriented</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>RE 2 Remake: Scenario A or B [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1672390</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>90</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic is just another self-insert story (with OC placeholder) taking place during the Resident Evil 2 Remake. I am warning you ahead of time, this shit is super self-indulgent, probably over detailed and probably not very realistic. BUT I had a good time writing it and, honestly, I made it for me. I’d just thought to share for other fans who like these kinds of fics like me. </p><p>Please feel free to insert yourself if you so choose 'cause honestly that was the whole point of me making this lol Life's too short to not self insert/selfship </p><p>A warning, Ada is probably ooc when off dialogue and frankly, probably Leon too lol again this is very self-indulgent. This includes both Leon and the OC being bisexual af but we don’t really have to get into that lol</p><p>Also another thing, things will be different throughout the story via boss battles and items because I want to incorporate the impact of Claire’s actions from her B scenario. Not all the time. Some things I have to keep ‘cause of how the game is played, but sometimes. Especially near the end. Just trust me on this. If you’re interested I have the counterpart fic but in Claire B’s scenario since I’m also in love with her lol</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>New Game: Leon S. Kennedy</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Chapter 1:</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Groans of the undead filled the night air. The empty streets were paved only with abandoned cars, lingering bodies, and scattered garbage. Rain pelted the ground reflecting back the chaotic environment in the puddles it left. The water almost ran red with all of the blood spilled during the carnage. However, there was one other sound echoing in the night, and it was the sound of footsteps running hastily across the city. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were made by a lone survivor trying to find safety in this godforsaken place, where despite being alone, she had somehow managed to stay alive. Stopping under a nearby tree to catch her breath, she could hear the loud voice of the PSA drawing nearer. Shelter and supplies sounded very nice right about now. Maybe just one more block, she can make it! There had to be survivors, right? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With all of the running, she couldn't feel the cold sting of the rain on her skin anymore, even as it drenched through her thin purple flannel. Her jean shorts and ripped black tights weren't any better in protecting her legs from the rain. She didn’t expect the weather to turn south and she certainly didn’t expect the city to fall victim to an outbreak. Unfortunately, she had lost her jacket in a skirmish with those monsters out there, but that wasn't important. All that mattered was that she would live no matter what. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as she was about to start running again, the sound of a loud explosion in the distance rang out through the city. The ground shook even to where she stood, meaning that it wasn't too far off. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s gonna draw attention, I have to keep moving!</span>
  </em>
  <span> With that thought in mind, she took off toward the Raccoon City Police Department.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rounding the corner, she could see the giant lit-up sign of the R.P.D. in the distance and a feeling of hope filled her heart. She carefully looked out onto the street in front of the colossal building only to curse under her breath. To her dismay, more of the wandering dead were walking near the front gate. She took a moment to think before deciding to take a stealthier approach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weaving through the cars, she crept towards one of the large brick walls that surrounded the place. She peeked around the corner and watched as the zombies either munched on lifeless bodies or wandered aimlessly in the street. Looking around she found a small chunk of broken metal lying on the ground near a car that sat across from her. That could be useful, she thought to herself. Hatching a quick plan in her head she picked it up, quickly made aim, and chucked it at a random car further away from the gate. This successfully caught their attention immediately as the car alarm blared through the silence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking this opportunity, she crept silently along the wall, hidden by the cars as she made her way to the front of the station unnoticed. Quickly, but quietly she opened the heavy iron gate a smidge before squeezing herself through and closing it softly behind her. She thanked whatever was out there listening for not letting the gate make a loud noise. As much as she wanted to lock it, she didn’t want any other survivors not being able to get in. They hadn’t yet anyways, what was a few more minutes. Continuing her stealthy pursuit, she walked up to the station's front doors and, to her relief, found them unlocked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was met with the warm light of the main hall, the darkness of the night left outside. On the far side of the room stood a giant statue of a woman holding up a flag and shield atop a wooden platform. It was the most notable thing in the room. The hall was three floors tall as she could see, with stone columns lining each floor. There was a large set of stairways on either side of the statue leading to the second floor, but not to the third. There must be a different way to get up there. The walls were tiled with granite and trimmed with black brick and dark wood paneling. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This place is too pretty to be a police station.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Finding a random dirty napkin, she wiped the bottom of her black sneakers to keep herself from sliding along the tiled floor. Her shoes were not exactly made to grip slippery surfaces and there was no rug to wipe them on. She couldn’t afford to slip in an emergency scenario such as this. A mistake like that could cost her, her life as she had learned the hard way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The place looked empty despite the chaos in its wake. There were medical supplies scattered everywhere, clearly signs of survivors trying to board up the doors. However, there was still fresh blood splattered on the ground and that put her on high alert. This place didn’t seem to fare any better than outside. Maybe this wasn’t the best choice after all, but it was all she had. Looking around, there was a closed metal gate to her right that had a sign that read, </span>
  <em>
    <span>KEEP OUT!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I can manage that,” she muttered to herself, too scared of alerting possible zombies in the building.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Walking up to the front desk, she found a half-empty box of handgun ammo sitting on the counter. She didn't have a gun, but it could be useful for later, so she left it there. Behind the desk, was a giant black box and a table with a computer on it. She was about to walk around to take a look at the place when the sound of gunshots rang out from a part of the building to her left. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Someone’s still alive, but they sound like they’re in trouble!</span>
  </em>
  <span> She looked around for a weapon and found a broken piece of an IV pole sitting unused amongst the clutter. The jagged edges on the broken end proved to be useful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’ll do!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She quickly pulled it out of the pile and ran towards the noises. Passing through a reception room, she opened a door to a dark hallway lit only by the outside lamps through boarded-up windows. There was also a distant light lying on the ground near the end of the hall. It was lit over a body that was slumped against the wall and she couldn’t tell whether it was truly dead or not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The air smelled much worse there compared to the room she was just in. Trying not to gag at the odor of blood and decaying flesh, she carefully walked down the hallway, shoes squelching against the tile beneath her. There was another hallway halfway through, but it was blocked off with tables and chairs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could hear someone grunting in a struggle as she carefully reached the corner. The floor and walls were splattered with blood. Lying beside the body, that she didn’t bother to look at, was a flashlight, which she eagerly took to light her way in the darkness. The guy didn’t move which was a good sign, so perhaps, it was truly dead. The sound of static buzzing from its police radio was distracting though in such a cramped hallway. She could only hope it wouldn’t attract any more of the dead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as she turned around facing the brighter light, she almost yelped in surprise. There was a pair of dangling feet right in front of her, almost giving her a heart attack, but she instead focused on the sounds past it. If she looked up, she knew she would regret it. There was a loud squelching sound and a man yelling in pain before someone stumbled through an open doorway onto the floor. It took her a moment to realize the man was actually alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god! Are you ok?!” the girl cried running over to help.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as she reached him, a zombie wearing a tattered police uniform came through the same doorway trying to find its prey. Her blood ran cold at the sight of a walking corpse with decaying flesh falling off of its body, despite having seen it all night. But the man groaning in pain at her feet brought her back to reality. She tossed the flashlight onto the ground before tightening her hold on the weapon in her hand. The light behind her bounced enough on the walls for her to see. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as it lunged forward, she swung the pole full force at the undead man’s head. The body hit the floor with a groan, but before it tried to get up, the girl plunged the end of the rod into its head stopping it once and for all. Her heart thumped in her chest and her hands shook ever so slightly feeling her body pumping full of adrenaline. She backed away quickly, trying to calm herself down before trying to help the injured man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you stand? Where are you hurt?” she asked as she knelt down next to him, picking up the flashlight in one hand and reaching out for him with the other. The black man looked up at her with pain written all over his face. He was also wearing a police uniform, but it was dirty and now soaked with blood. He groaned before getting up onto his knees and placing a hand on his ribs. Even in the darkness, she could tell that he was badly injured. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine. Let’s get out of here before more of them show up!” he replied with a strain in his voice. She grabbed his arm and helped him stand before putting his arm over her shoulders and one of her arms around his waist to give him some leverage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there anyone else here that’s alive?” she questioned as they hobbled back the way she came.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s another officer, Elliot. He’s around here somewhere, but not sure where.” They quickly made it back to the main hall, where she sat the officer on the black box she saw earlier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kid. Go shut that gate so that there won’t be any more getting through. That box has a switch that’ll close it.” Following his orders, she ran to the already open electric box near the entryway to the room they came from and pulled the lever, causing an iron gate to slowly come down and close off the area.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here!” The officer tossed her a giant roll of yellow tape and with that, she wrapped up the box to keep anyone else from opening it, for now. She ran back to the injured man and tried to help tend to his wounds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How bad is it?” she asked looking around for some medical supplies amongst the scattered piles of equipment around the room. On a cot nearby, she found a can of first aid spray that could help.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been bit,” he answered gravely. She stopped in her tracks and looked back at him. With such silence in the room, you could almost hear her heart break at his response. She had seen plenty of zombie movies to know what that meant. He was clutching his wound, blood staining his hand and his skin was already growing pale. Walking back over, she stood in front of him, feeling her eyes start to water. The first survivor she had seen all day and now he didn’t have much time left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry,” she whispered watching him pull back his hand revealing a large bite mark in the middle of torn skin, muscle, and even a sliver of a rib bone amongst the carnage. His hand covered it back up to keep the pressure on it. He looked up at her and sighed before putting his other clean hand gently on her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t cry, young lady. What’s your name?” She sniffled as she tried wiping her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Veronica Lopez, sir,” she replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lieutenant Marvin Branagh. Thank you for trying to help, Veronica. Where are you from?” he asked, trying to distract the other survivor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Los Angeles, sir.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sunny California, huh?” he smiled weakly. “That’s a long ways away. How did you get all the way over here at a time like this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was in town visiting a friend, but-,” she was suddenly interrupted by gunshots coming from the east side of the building.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marvin quickly hopped off of the box he sat on and looked into the computer next to him. In the camera feed, the pair found someone running through the halls shooting at a horde of zombies that were following them. They heard the person’s footsteps growing louder towards the room they were in and quickly ran to the gate that had the sign on it. They made it in time to see a young man trying to crawl under the pried open shutter while trying to escape. Just as he was almost safe, a zombie crawled after him and grabbed his leg, trying to pull him back in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goddamnit!” he shouted, fist pounding the floor in frustration. With panic in her veins, Veronica rushed over, quickly grabbed the guy’s arm, and used all of her strength to drag him away from the monster’s reach. She was not going to lose anyone again today.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got you!” she assured him once he was at a safe distance, kneeling at his side. The survivor looked up at her then over at Marvin who passed them and placed a hand on the gate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Watch out!” the stranger shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it!” the lieutenant exclaimed before slamming the gate onto the grabby zombie’s head. Brain matter exploded all over the ground and the body stopped moving entirely. Veronica gagged at the sight and had to turn her head away to keep herself from vomiting. It seemed like the goriness of it all was getting worse with each passing moment. Marvin quickly lifted the gate a smidge to kick the body under it before locking down the gate for good. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re safe,” he looked at the pair before stumbling back against the metal wall with a pained grunt. “For now.” The young man at Veronica’s feet sat up trying to catch his breath before looking up at the officer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” he said breathlessly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marvin Branagh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leon Kennedy.” Said man turned his head to look over at the other survivor for a response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Veronica Lopez,” she replied, giving a small nod in greeting. He gave one back before looking over at Marvin with a pained look on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There was another officer…I-I couldn’t…I couldn’t,” he closed his eyes as the memory of what happened replayed in his head. Veronica watched sadly as he tilted his head down with guilt, light brown hair falling over his face. That must’ve been the other officer Marvin talked about, Elliot. Now it was just the three of them that she knew of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here.” Marvin went to reach out his hand, only to stumble back in pain. The young girl took it upon herself to stand in place of the injured officer. She stood up and circled around the survivor on the floor then stood in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got it, Marvin. Don’t hurt yourself any more than you need to. Here,” she said, holding out her hand to the guy on the floor. Said man looked up at her, blue eyes meeting brown ones. They were pretty, she had thought to herself. Leon looked at her hand before grabbing it with his own. It was cold and wet, not surprising due to the weather. Her hand probably felt the same. With a little huff, she helped pull him onto his feet, finding him to be a few inches taller than her once standing. Marvin walked over to the two of them and sighed tiredly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure you did what you could, Leon,” he reassured before walking past them. He grabbed the computer that he left on the table as he headed towards the giant statue. Before they could follow him, Veronica stopped the newfound survivor with a small tug to his jacket. He turned his head towards her curiously, finding her looking anxious as hell at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey. That was fucking terrifying! Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?” she questioned, praying that he wasn’t bitten too. Her eyes briefly looked over him for any injuries. He was soaked to the bone like she was, but the front of his grey button-up shirt and jeans were dirty from crawling on the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked like he was around her age with such a babyface, which was comforting in a sense to her knowing she wasn’t the only young adult there. But even with such a young-looking face, he was really handsome with defined features and cleft chin. She noticed there were beauty marks and faint freckles on his cheeks, which she found very flattering. He looked like he could be in a boy band. The young man rubbed at the back of his neck with a shaky sigh, breaking her from her thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m ok. Mostly shaken up, but not hurt,” he assured her. She closed her eyes for a moment, exhaling in relief before opening them again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good. I’m glad you’re ok!” He glanced at her as he dropped his arm from his neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Veronica, right?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah. Leon, you said?" He nodded with a small awkward smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you for saving me. I was almost zombie food for a second there."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's no problem. We survivors gotta watch out for each other, right?" she said with a small smile of her own. He gave her a small nod, his own smile growing ever so slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Right! Despite these circumstances, it's nice to meet you." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Likewise."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both made their way toward Marvin who was walking toward a small area of supplies right at the base of the statue. He sat at one of the black leather benches, his hand putting more pressure on his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” Leon asked sitting on the bench across from him. Veronica looked at him as she was putting her long brown hair up into a quick ponytail to keep it out of her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was attacked by one of those things. I showed up in time to save him, but I was also too late,” she replied before kneeling next to Marvin. She found a piece of gauze on a box near her but was only met with resistance from him when she tried to help. Instead, he took the gauze from her and placed it on his own wound. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'd rather you don't get my blood on your hands, young lady."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine. The gauze will help stop the bleeding, even if only for a little bit. I can use the spray-.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! No. Save it for yourselves. You’ll need it more than I will.” The girl sighed in frustration before standing back up. Sitting made her feel too on edge, at least standing she was prepared for anything. Marvin noticed her slight pacing before chuckling weakly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax, Veronica. This room is locked up from the rest of the station. It is safe for right now.” His statement made her feel a little better, but she still kept her head on a swivel. Leon took this moment to look at the computer from where it sat on a trunk. The image was of a map of the station.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This place is pretty big. Are there any other survivors here?” Leon asked looking up at the other two. Marvin shook his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just the three of us now,” he replied. He looked up at Leon with some familiarity in his eyes and leaned slightly forward. “Kennedy...You’re the new rookie, aren’t you?” he asked softly in realization. Leon sighed before nodding. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reporting for duty, Lieutenant,” he replied sadly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I thought you looked familiar."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hearing that, Veronica walked closer while rubbing her arm, a shiver passing through her. Now that the adrenaline had gone down, the cold was seeping through her drenched clothes. She didn't exactly plan on running through the rain in a zombie-infested city. To say she was unprepared was a no brainer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The rookie?” she asked with a slight chatter to her teeth. She could feel the goosebumps forming on her skin as another shiver racked her body. Leon looked up at her trembling form and nodded in response. He seemed to contemplate something for a moment before he answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was supposed to work here as a new police officer,” he said before standing. He began walking toward her while taking off his black windbreaker. “I guess today would technically be my first day. Here,” he said as he draped the jacket over her shoulders and smiled softly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! I couldn’t-,” she tried to politely refuse by trying to take it back off, but Leon stopped her with a shake of his head before she could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright. You look like you need it more than I do right now. Besides, it suits you,” he said, eyes gazing into hers. Her brain stopped working as he said that, and she couldn’t find anything to say back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very smooth, Kennedy!” Marvin teased sarcastically, causing Leon to flinch. “Glad to know that chivalry's not dead. Now get over here.” The younger officer cleared his throat in embarrassment, before giving her a look then began walking over to the lieutenant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The young girl blinked in surprise, feeling a warmth in her cheeks. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Very smooth indeed. </span>
  </em>
  <span>As the two talked, she grasped the jacket around her and reveled in its warmth. For as wet as it was on the outside, it was still pretty dry on the inside. She was appreciative of the jacket, though she would be lying if she said that she didn’t feel a little flutter in her chest at Leon’s act. He was a handsome guy and he played it off very smoothly, but considering the situation they were in, she had to ignore it. This wasn’t the time for a silly little crush.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once she felt a little better temperature-wise, she slipped her arms through the sleeves and cuffed them at the ends since it was a tad too long. She could smell the slightest scent of the cologne that he was wearing in it, and she found it to be pleasing to her senses. Still feeling a cold chill on her neck, she took down her ponytail and kept the hairband on her wrist. It'll be useful again later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she looked back up, Leon had jogged around towards the front desk and came back with a stack of clothes in his hands. Unraveling them, she realized it was a police uniform and some elbow pads. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Smart</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thought. Leon began unbuttoning his shirt before remembering who was in his company. He looked over at her and cleared his throat shyly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, I’m going to change, so…?” She blinked as she processed his sentence before realizing what he was trying to say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right! Of course! I’ll just,” she said quickly making her way down towards the front desk to give him privacy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She decided to distract herself from the thought of a cute guy changing just on the other side of the room by digging through the box for supplies. She found an extra knife in its sheath and a pouch that could fit helpful items like the first aid spray. She didn’t know what she was going to be up against, but she knew she needed to prepare herself for anything. Especially since she couldn’t find anything of help anywhere else in the city. Setting herself up, they were clipped around her waist right when Marvin told her that she could go back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Walking over, she found Leon dressed from head to toe in police gear. It was a regular navy police uniform with a grey long sleeve shirt under it to cover his exposed arms. Then he added a bulletproof vest with a radio attached to keep in contact with Marvin. Replacing the white sneakers he was wearing were black police boots, and the pads she had seen earlier were attached to his elbows and knees. Looking him over, she would be lying if she said she didn’t find him almost a little more attractive in it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh man, this was gonna be hard!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Said man looked over at her once she made it back and smiled as he adjusted his elbow pads. Then he looked to Marvin and his smile disappeared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does anyone know what started this?” he asked a little more seriously. Glancing over, she saw Marvin looking between the computer and a small book in his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not a clue. But honestly, all you need to know is that this place </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>eat you alive if you aren’t careful,” he replied looking up at the other male. Leon took out a gun and checked it for ammunition before placing it in a holster around his leg.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…well, I was supposed to start last week, and I got a call to stay away. I wish I’d come here sooner,” the young officer sighed with a raise of his arms. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That explains some things</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Veronica thought, shoving her hands in her pockets. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re here now, Leon,” Marvin said looking back down at the book in his hands. “That’s all that matters.” She couldn’t help but nod in agreement. Leon didn’t respond and instead walked towards Marvin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok, Lieutenant, I’m ready.” Veronica slowly made her way over to the other two, unsure of what to do, but willing to do anything to get out of there. Marvin looked up at the younger couple with a little hope in his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hopefully, you both will be able to find a way out of this station,” he said, lifting the book in his hands. “That officer you met earlier – Elliot. He thought this secret passageway might do the trick.” He handed the book to Leon, who looked at the illustrations carefully. Veronica leaned over to see, only for Leon to hand it to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pages had sketches of different images with codes beneath them and that they would lead to a secret passage under what was labeled as the goddess statue. It looked like the tall statue next to them and looking at the base there were indeed 3 holes that needed something to fit in them. She didn’t know what they meant, but she was willing to find out. Feeling like she had seen one of the images before, she took a glance around the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is good news. We can get you to a hospital,” Leon commented. She whipped her head back to look at him, surprised by his statement. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Does he really not know?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Just as he said this, Marvin doubled over in pain, hissing between his teeth, shaking his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no. I am not the priority here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lieutenant, I’m not just gonna leave you here-,” he tried to convince the older man and even looked to Veronica for help. All she could respond with was with a frown before Marvin interrupted them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m giving you an order, rookie. You save yourself first,” Marvin snapped, his voice echoing in the large room. He looked up at Leon then at Veronica then back again. “Both of you. I’d come with you, but I’d just slow you down.” The younger officer sighed exasperatedly until he felt a hand gently touch his arm. He looked over at the other female survivor and saw the sad look in her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leon,” she muttered softly. He didn’t understand that Marvin didn’t have that much time left. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now…you’ll need this,” Marvin said, causing both people to look at him. He reached behind him, stood up, and took out his knife before handing it to Leon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t take-.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop,” Marvin shook his head and held the knife out for the other to take. Leon sighed before grasping the handle. Once he did, the lieutenant pulled Leon close and advised, “And don’t make my mistake. If you see one of those things - uniform or not – you do not hesitate. You take it out…or you run. Got it?” Leon nodded. Marvin glanced at the other for an answer. She nodded as well, taking his advice to heart. After all, she saw it happen, she could understand why he would say that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, sir.” As soon as Leon said so, Marvin hissed out in pain and quickly sat down grasping his wound. The gauze was already soaked in blood. The young girl was about to run over and help, but Marvin only shook his head. She frowned and backed away feeling a little dejected as Leon strapped the knife to his belt. Said officer looked at her and put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It’ll be ok. We’ll figure this out. I promise!” Her eyes met his and she could see the determination in him. It made her feel like they had a chance to survive this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it alright if I come with you? I want to help!” His eyebrows furrowed in concern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure? It’s ok to stay here with Marvin till I get back.” She shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not safe for you to go alone! Besides, two heads are better than one! We can solve this faster if we work together!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll be too dangerous! I’m at least a little more trained in situations like this!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I’ve ran through this entire city all by myself till I got here! To say I’m a little experienced is an understatement.” She paused for a moment before letting out a small sigh. “Believe me when I say I’m terrified right now, but it was more terrifying watching you almost get eaten by one of those things. I don’t want anyone else to die tonight, so please. If there is a chance we can get out, I wanna help!” Leon seemed taken aback by her words and the genuine concern in her eyes. He found her sincerity admirable and realized he would probably do the same. Before long, he gave in knowing she was right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok. We'll work together. Partners?” he smiled holding out a fist. She smiled softly and fist-bumped him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Partners!” she agreed. Before they began their exploration, Leon grabbed something that he kept on a bench.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here! Put these on. They’ll make things easier for you.” It was a stack of elbow pads and a pair of leather fingerless gloves similar to the ones that he was wearing. They were slightly padded in the palms, which were definitely helpful. “I grabbed them for you just in case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” she said as she grabbed them and placed them on her elbows and knees the same as Leon did with his. "Feels a little weird, but better than having busted up kneecaps!" She said bending her joints to adjust to it while putting on the gloves. He chuckled at her statement then gestured a nod to the westside direction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You'll get used to it. C'mon! Let's find the way out of here. We’ll be back Lieutenant," he said walking towards the gate that she had previously closed after saving Marvin. Following behind him, she watched as he used his knife to skillfully cut up the tape on the box and opened it to pull the lever. The mechanism beeped loudly then the gate slowly began to rise up.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Leon and Veronica's journey begins as they scour the department for supplies. What will they find in the dark corners of the RPD?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just to let yall know, I'm not fluent in how guns work or weaponry all together. I'm basing all I know on how the gameplay goes as well as the one time I've ever shot a gun lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“This is not how I imagined my first day,” Leon grumbled while taking out his gun. His partner's gaze softened as she patted his shoulder to comfort him.</p><p>“I’m really sorry it ended up like this.” He turned to her and smiled reassuringly.</p><p>“It’s ok. I can still try and help anyone stuck in this godforsaken place. Like you.” She gave a smile in return before turning back to the now wide-open entryway. This was the start of one hell of a journey. They both walked into the room and looked around for anything that would be helpful. To his luck, Leon found an unused box of ammo lying on a bench, which he hummed at before placing it in one of his pockets. Just as they saw the door lying behind a wooden wall divider, Veronica suddenly stopped him. </p><p>“Leon, this is where Marvin was attacked. It’s a fucking slaughterhouse in there. We have to be careful!” He nodded and after a moment of looking at her, he realized she was weaponless.</p><p>“Do you have a gun?” She shook her head.</p><p>“No. I do have a knife though, and I used a broken pole earlier. It’s probably still in there stuck in the zombie’s head.”</p><p>“Very creative. Do you know how to use one?”</p><p>“Kind of, but not really. Frankly really terrified to.”</p><p>“Well, if we find another gun here, you’re gonna have to use it. I’ll show you how, but until then can you handle using the knife?”</p><p>“For now. If that pole is still there, I’m gonna use that instead.” She unsheathed the knife from her waist and gripped the handle tightly.</p><p>“Fair enough. We’ll find you something regardless. If something happens though, your best bet is to run.” He walked over to the door and placed a hand on the doorknob. “Ready?”</p><p>She nodded. He slowly twisted the knob and cracked the door open before using his fingers to push it back. It was still so dark, but the light at the end of the hall she saw earlier was still on. They both took out their flashlights and shined them into the darkness. </p><p>To Veronica, it didn’t seem like anything had changed since she was in there, which was good. The body at the end of the hallway hadn’t moved, proving to her that it was not going to get back up. Slowly, they walked down the hall, flashing light at every corner in case of an attack. The atmosphere was so tense, they could cut it with a knife. Reaching the body, the sound of static from its radio grew louder, but now there seemed to be someone transmitting in.</p><p>“This is 73 – Bird - for rescue – heading east – River – Touchdown at R.P.D. – minutes. I repeat, touchdown-,” the voice cut in and out of the static before stopping completely. What was this about a touchdown?!</p><p>Leon hummed curiously as he crouched down next to the body. One of his hands reached over to pull back the head, causing both parties to groan in disgust. The man's jaw was dislocated, no, more like it was torn apart. The muscles were barely holding it together as it stretched out like slime. The more his head was tilted back, the lower his jaw slid down the dead man’s chest with blood seeping between barely intact teeth and neck. <em> What on Earth could have possibly done this!? </em></p><p>“Oh…oh what the fuck!”</p><p>That was hands down the worst thing Veronica had ever seen, and she had seen some shit that day. Her stomach lurched at the sight, bile rising in her throat. She couldn’t stop herself from turning away and making it a few feet before vomiting whatever was left in her stomach onto the ground. </p><p>She could barely hear Leon’s boots walk up behind her and then suddenly felt warm hands pull back her hair away from her face. His fingers brushing against her cheeks softly as he did so. Spitting and retching silently, she leaned over with a hand against the wall while the other grasped at her jacket for comfort. She spits a final time before turning her head to see Leon holding a napkin out to her.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she took it gratefully. “I thought I’ve seen it all today. But that…” She wiped her mouth and swallowed the horrible taste on her tongue. </p><p>“It’s ok. I honestly don’t know how I’m not throwing up alongside you,” he muttered softly. She slowly stood up straight causing him to let go of her hair.</p><p>“I really hope that doesn’t happen again. I’m sorry,” she said leaning against the wall for a moment. Her knees felt a little shaky and she just needed a second to breathe.</p><p>“Don’t apologize,” he assured her while placing a hand gently on her shoulder. “This type of stuff you see in horror movies. We’re not meant to see it in real life. Let’s just hope that’s the worst of it. How are you feeling?” She patted his hand before pushing off the wall.</p><p>“Better, but my breath is pretty rank now. What I’d give for some mouthwash.” As soon as she said that, Leon’s face lit up as if he remembered something. He dug into one of the many pockets in his uniform and brought out a small square packet. Opening it, he revealed it to be gum and popped out two pieces, one for each of them.</p><p>“Wow! You’re really prepared for anything, aren’t you?” she joked, taking her piece. They both popped them into their mouths and smiled at each other. Mint flavor. Just what she needed.</p><p>“I guess you could say I am.”</p><p>“Thank you. I really appreciate it. Shall we keep moving on in this hell hole?”</p><p>“You sure you still want to? We can go back.” She shook her head.</p><p>“I’m fine.”</p><p>“Then alright. Let’s go.”</p><p>The two parties fell back into focus mode as they retraced their steps towards the body. Veronica turned the corner, avoiding the corpse on the floor, but stopped dead in her tracks at a forgotten pair of hanging feet. From the corner of her eye, she could see Leon flash his light up at the ceiling, but she dared not look. She heard him gasp softly and turned her gaze towards him.</p><p>“Don’t look up,” he whispered. He reached out and grasped her arm, pulling her away from the body. To move on, he shined his light on a corpse lying on the floor a few feet from them. It was the one Veronica killed to save Marvin as proven by the pole sticking out of its head.</p><p>"Is that your handiwork?" Leon asked. She nodded putting her knife away so she could go grab the pole. Just as they slowly walked past the hanging corpse, however, the body slid from where it hung on and landed right next to them with a loud splat. Veronica jumped right into Leon with a gasp, grasping at his arm tightly. Her heart raced in her chest and she felt like she was gonna have a heart attack. </p><p>The two looked over with Leon moving the arm she was holding up to push her behind him protectively, only to find the head of the body to be split into two. It wouldn’t be getting up, that’s for sure. They both let out a breath of relief for that. Veronica finally looked up to see blood on a lone pipe that it must have been pierced on. She didn’t know what she was expecting to find, but it wasn’t that. <em> How the fuck did it get up there?!  </em></p><p>Looking at the two bodies, she realized they were both police officers. There really were no other survivors. She turned her head to say something and found her face closer to Leon’s than she thought. They both quickly looked away shyly and tried to focus on the mission at hand. Letting go of his arm, she let out a deep breath.</p><p>“Fuck this place! It’s like some fucked up haunted house,” she hissed. Leon was about to agree when the sound of a tin can rolling onto the ground from down the hall caught their attention.</p><p>“Huh? What!?” Leon flashed his light to the doorway ahead of them. There was a giant three-pronged scratch along the wall. <em> What else is in this place?! </em> He held out a hand for her to wait as he tip-toed over to the door. As she waited, Veronica looked around and noticed a door on the opposite wall where the body was hanging. Next to it was a plaque that read, ‘Confiscated Items Storage’. That could be useful.</p><p>She carefully walked over and tried the knob, but found it locked. There was an emblem of a green shamrock on it, so maybe there was a key out there specifically for it. On the other side of the door, was a poster with Marvin on it. It said he was ‘officer of the month’. He looked so normal and she felt sad thinking of how little time he had left. Not too long ago, this place was just a normal city with people going in and out as they do. Now it was only a death trap.</p><p>"Hey!" Leon whispered, capturing her attention. He waved her over then put a finger to his lips signaling her to stay quiet. She made her way to him and on the way grabbed her newfound weapon. Continuing to follow him down the hall, they passed by a broken window surrounded by broken caution tape. </p><p>The floor was drenched from the rain pouring in and it made her realize why they were being quiet. They were trying not to draw attention, but that didn't last, however. At the next corner was a window that wasn’t boarded up and as soon as they passed it, a zombie threw itself at the glass. They both jumped as they watched it growl at them and slap its bloodied hands all over the window. It wouldn't hold long, so they needed to move quickly.  </p><p>The hallway was cut off, however, with the only other way being a set of double doors to their right. Just as they reached them, the sound of glass shattering behind them caused them to turn around sharply. The zombie fell into the hall and tried sloppily getting up with a low growl. </p><p>A loud bang rang in her ears causing her to wince as Leon shot it multiple times in the head. The body slumped over with a groan and didn’t get back up. The officer lowered his gun and turned to the doors before slowly opening them. He quickly stepped in with his gun raised and swept over the room before nodding to his companion.</p><p>She quickly made her way in and closed the doors behind her. It was a large room that they figured may have been used as a meeting room at some point. The black and white tiled floors were filthy, but it was far less bloody than outside. A dull light flickered on in the opposite end of the room showing desks and chairs piled up against the left wall. Leon found some ammo on a random desk before walking to a wide dirty chalkboard that stood right under the light. Taped to it was a large piece of the map to the station.</p><p>“Sweet!” Veronica whispered. Looking over it, the two realized they were in a room called the ‘Operations Room’<em> . </em>Veronica saw that there was a room next to theirs, but after walking up to the door, she realized they weren’t getting in. Wrapped around the handle was a large yellow chain. She gave it a quick tug to see if it was loose, but to no avail.</p><p>“We need some bolt cutters to get in or we go around.” Leon hummed in affirmation, folding the map in a pocket. He walked over to the desk next to her and found papers with the R.P.D. insignia. He glanced over it as she stood next to him curious at his findings. Lowering it for her to see, he began to read aloud.</p><p>“‘Record of Events. September 25th: We’re turning the station into a temporary shelter due to the massive sudden outbreak. All police personnel have been instructed to make the safety of the citizens their top priority as we try to accommodate as many of them as possible.’”</p><p>“That was just a few days ago.” He nodded, turning the page.</p><p>“‘Addendum. One of the refugees attacked us in the middle of the night, resulting in the death of 1 officer and injuring 3 others. The person in question was quickly restrained. We believe this was simply a case of someone snapping under intense stress.'" He paused, eyebrows furrowing. </p><p>"'September 26th: A mob attacked the station today, resulting in a number of casualties. A few survivors were able to make it safely behind the emergency shutters, but surrounded as we are, it’ll be hard for any of us to escape this place. We’re not sure we can fix any of our comm equipment, so we remain cut off from the outside world.’” His voice broke at the last few words. She looked up to see his face full of guilt. Taking the paper in her fingers, she turned the page and tilted it more for her to see as she continued for him.</p><p>“‘September 27th: There was another clash on the west side of the station around 1 pm...Twelve people died, and there is only a handful of survivors left. Everything is falling into disarray in here. David Ford.’” She could feel him trembling next to her and looked over to see his mouth pressed in a tight line and eyebrows furrowed in anger now. His fists were balled up, the grip on the paper crumpling it. He was clearly trying to keep himself from losing his composure but was slowly failing.</p><p>“I should’ve been here,” he said between gritted teeth. Shaking her head, she took the papers from his hand then set them back down.</p><p>“Leon, no. There was nothing you could’ve done!” Trying to gather his attention, she leaned over putting her hands on his shoulders. “Hey! Look at me!” she urged softly. </p><p>He shut his eyes instead, knowing that if he opened them, he would break down. She reached up and gently cupped his cheek with one of her hands, turning his gaze to look at her. Eyes stared into one another full of mixed emotions. She may not have known him long, but she couldn’t just not care about his feelings. She cared too much for others, and after everything she had been through that day, she realized how much she took friends for granted.</p><p>“If you were here then, you probably would’ve died too. You’re here now and that’s all that matters,” she whispered, her thumb gently caressing his skin “You have to stay strong, ok?” He swallowed the lump in his throat as he nodded. He took a deep breath in, exhaled, then reached up to gently pull her hands away but lingered in her touch with his own. </p><p>“Yeah. Ok. Thank you,” he muttered. She gave his hands a gentle squeeze with a soft smile.</p><p>“It’s no problem. We got each other, right?”</p><p>“Right,” he said mirroring her smile. Letting out a small sigh, he let go of her hands before pulling the map back out. “Let’s keep going!” She nodded in response then looked over at the opposite side of the room. There was a stack of pallets sitting against the wall. Above it was a broken window and, according to the map, it should lead to another part of the building.</p><p>“Looks like that’s our only way out for now,” she told him. Walking over, they both climbed up onto the pallets with Leon helping her up. He looked over the edge carefully, used his elbow pad to clear some of the shards, then signaled Veronica to wait. He pulled himself up onto the sill and clambered over onto the other side. She could hear him grunt as he hit the floor.</p><p>Standing on her tiptoes, she peered down at him in the dimly lit hallway. He looked up at her once she was visible and put a finger to his lips. He peeked around the room quietly then held up a hand for her to wait before taking out his gun. Aiming it down the hall, she watched as he drew closer to whatever he was aimed at, then a few shots went off followed by a loud thud.</p><p>Putting his gun back in its sheath, he jogged back under the window and waved her down. With a little bit of struggle, she pulled herself up onto the sill and sat on the edge, tossing him her weapon. With a small shove, she jumped away from the window, her feet landing with a thud before she began stumbling forward. Reacting quickly, Leon caught her, stopping her from falling. </p><p>"Whoa! I gotcha!" He helped balance her back on her feet, watching her stand up straight before she glanced at him.</p><p>"Thank you."</p><p>"You're welcome. I-," he was about to say as they walked out into the open space when a low groaning interrupted him. He turned quickly to see a zombie clambering onto its knees. He raised his gun to shoot, but his partner put a hand on his shoulders.</p><p>“Don’t waste your ammo. I got this one!” With that, she kicked the back of the zombie, keeping him pinned to the ground then stabbed it through the head quickly. It stopped moving just as fast. She pulled out the rod and turned back to Leon who had a slightly surprised face. </p><p>“Nicely done!” She gestured some finger guns at him jokingly, causing him to chuckle. It was nice to hear amongst all the seriousness.</p><p>“All in a day’s work. Gotta try and be careful about what we use though. We don’t know how much ammo is left around here,” she pointed out as she wiped her face of blood with her sleeve. “Speaking of which, let’s keep going.” </p><p>Looking around, the room was splattered in blood, even up toward the ceiling. How it got up there, they didn’t know. They tried not to talk too much until they knew the room was clear of any monsters. There were three doors on either side of the room and a hallway on the other. A sign leading to it read ‘Stairs’. </p><p>One of the doors was labeled ‘West Office’ and the other was labeled ‘Safety Deposit Room’. She didn’t know what that meant, but it looked important since the door was made of metal. The other door stood by the vending machine, but Leon found it to be locked from the inside. It must have been the room that was chained up. They would have to find a different way to get in or not be able to at all.</p><p>Veronica was able to find a box of ammo sitting by a real dead body near the window they jumped from. She figured that out with a lot of poking and kicking. As she walked back, Leon broke the vending machine with the handle of his knife to grab a couple of candy bars for the two of them.</p><p>“Gotta keep our energy up. We can eat these when we find a safe place to rest. I’m not sure how it all spread, but don’t drink the water unless it’s bottled,” he told her, handing her one. She nodded and placed it in her pouch. <em> Wow, it really did come in handy. </em> </p><p>Leon walked over to the Safety Deposit Room and the two quickly found it to be empty. It was very well lit compared to the rest of the place, which was a nice change. The walls were made of concrete and there was a keypad in front of a long aisle of lockers. Veronica looked at the keypad and noticed that the 2 and 3 buttons were missing.</p><p>“Hm. Anything useful in any of these?” she asked ready to push some buttons. Leon walked briskly around and began telling her numbers that she punched in. The ones with two or three, however, had to wait. A piece of paper on a desk informed her of someone losing them, but that they could be returned. “Can’t do those ones. The buttons are missing.” Leon walked back to her with more ammo and a roll of film. The film was labeled as ‘Commemorative Photo’.</p><p>“There’s also a special weapons locker in the back. It has a shotgun and some ammo, but we need a keycard to get them.”</p><p>“Ok. We’ll keep an eye out for it then. Can’t hurt to have another gun. The buttons we gotta look for too if the other lockers are worth it. What’s the film for?”</p><p>“I don’t know, but maybe it’ll help us?”</p><p>“Wouldn’t hurt. We’ll check it if we see a dark room somewhere.” She took it from him and placed it in her pouch.</p><p>They made their way out and decided to go into the West Office. It was a smaller room, mostly filled with desks in the center and a smaller separate office meant for a superior on the side. At one of those desks, a zombie was leaned over as if sleeping. As soon as it heard the door open, however, it raised its head and tried to stand, but Leon quickly stopped it with a few shots. He quickly reloaded his gun as another one stumbled out of the separate office with a growl. He shot it before it could even get too far.</p><p>Flashing a light around, they realized it was clear for now. The both of them walked around looking for supplies, which Leon found a pack of bullets in a locker and a safe in the office. He mentioned that he would need a code if there was anything useful in them to get. On a desk, the young girl found a paper explaining the different types of gun powders that could be used. </p><p>After telling Leon, he explained to her how it could be useful in making more ammo in case they ran out. <em> Glad to know. </em>Veronica scanned the light over the desks and noticed something hanging from the ceiling. It was shiny blue streamers with plastic stars at the end. There was a banner facing away from her, hiding what the occasion was for and it made her curious.</p><p>“That’s nice. Someone was having a party,” she smiled as Leon walked out of the office. As sad as it was to think about, it was nice to see that people were celebrating something happy before this whole mess began. She shined her light up at the banner and her smile immediately faded once she realized what it was for. </p><p>“Veronica? What’s wrong?” he asked, walking over to see. Looking up, he felt his heart break a little inside. The banner read ‘Welcome Leon’ in bright yellow lettering surrounded by the streamers. This was the party that never happened all because of some stupid zombie outbreak.</p><p>“It was…for me,” he faltered. “Then…that means…” Noticing a desk in front of him, he shined his light down to find it closed over with a slip of paper on it. With a trembling hand, he reached for it and read it aloud.</p><p>“‘Rookies first assignment – Leon S. Kennedy, we’re putting you on a very special case for your first assignment. Your mission is…to unlock your desk!” He smiled sadly to himself as he read on. “The key to your success is in the initials of our first names. Input the letters in order of our desks. There are 2 locks – 1 on each side of your desk. Make sure you get them both. Basically, your first task is to remember your fellow officers’ names, but you figured that much out, right? Good luck Leon. By the way, it might take a little work to get Scott to give you a straight answer. – Lieutenant Branagh.’” He was about to set it down when he noticed a scribbled note in the corner between some drops of blood. “‘Be glad you’re not here rookie.’”</p><p>"Oh, Leon…"</p><p>They looked down at the desk and noticed the two padlocks on either side. Eager to open it, they each took a side and found the names of what could’ve been Leon’s coworkers on name plaques that were sitting on the desks. Veronica’s side was Neil, Elliot, and David while Leon's was Marvin, Rita, and George. She made sure to tell him since he wanted to know. On Elliot’s desk, however, she found a notebook with a scrawling of a diary entry.</p><p>“There’s something written here by Elliot,” she told Leon, stopping him in his tracks. She read out, “‘September 28 2:30 am. It’s down to just me and 3 others. No weapons…no ammo…and too many skirmishes have drained us mentally and physically. We’re not gonna make it…Officer Phillips once suggested we escape through the sewers. Apparently, there’s a secret tunnel under this place left over from its museum days.’” She paused. </p><p>“Museum days? This place was a museum?” She arched an eyebrow and noticed Leon shrug before continuing to read. “‘I brushed her idea off before, but now, it’s not sounding all that bad. Yeah, there’s no proof there’s even a tunnel or that the sewers aren’t infested with zombies, but I don’t wanna sit here and wait to die, either. It’s a long shot, but I’m gonna try to find out what I can about that tunnel. – Elliot Edward.’ God, this was just yesterday.” She set it back down and watched Leon think to himself for a moment.</p><p>“He died so horribly. He didn’t deserve to die like that,” he mumbled as he shook his head, making his way back to his desk. Seeing that it was a sore topic, she didn’t ask. Following him, she did the same and the two of them unlocked the padlocks easily. Leon placed his hands on the desk and slid the lid upwards. Her flashlight lit up a clean wooden desk and a shiny plaque with his name sitting on it. 'Leon S. Kennedy'. She watched as he picked it up, his bottom lip quivering. Taking a chair in one hand, he pushed it in and sat down before looking up at the banner.</p><p>“This is my desk. It-it’s so nice. Just like I hoped it would look like,” he choked up a little as he slid his hand across the surface. “This was supposed to be the office I worked in for the rest of my life. These people were supposed to be my coworkers…my friends. We were going to save lives.” Veronica felt her eyes welling up and placed a hand gently on his shoulder to console him. She felt terrible. His whole future was in front of him and it was all taken away. She didn’t know him long, but she knew he didn’t deserve this.</p><p>“I was so excited to be a police officer. I’ve wanted to be one for as long as I can remember, and now…” he trailed off as a small sob tore through him. </p><p>“I’m so sorry Leon,” she sniffled. He looked up at her with sad eyes then quickly stood up. To her surprise, he leaned in and wrapped her in a hug, arms wounding around her tightly. It took her a moment to kick her mind back into gear before she hugged him back with arms holding him just as tightly. Her own eyes were stinging with tears. She could feel him trembling against her, and all the both of them felt like they could do was hold each other.</p><p>This was only the beginning and yet, it was all so much. Will they make it out? Will they not? What will happen if they don’t? And the stuff they’ve seen, the absolute chaos of a zombie-infested city. It was overwhelming. Taking a moment to just be with someone felt nice. Even though they had just met, it didn't feel awkward. If anything, it almost felt natural, like they had already been friends for a long time. It was a strange feeling, but one they didn't reject. After about a minute, Leon finally loosened his grip around her and slowly pulled away.</p><p>“Sorry. I don’t usually cry, but…,” he sniffled while trying to wipe his face with his sleeve. She shook her head.</p><p>“Don’t apologize. It’s ok. I understand,” she replied, wiping the tears from her own face.</p><p>“Didn’t mean to make you cry,” he mumbled with a weak smile.</p><p>“I think we needed it honestly. Are you ok to keep moving?” He nodded.</p><p>“I will be.”</p><p>“Good. Let’s finish this room and move on. Elliot said that the secret tunnel might lead us to the sewers. It may not be much, but it’s our best bet unless we beeline it through the city or call for help.”</p><p>“Either way. I just want to get out of here. We can try and get help for any other survivors in the city.” She nodded in agreement before they split up looking around the room for anything they may have missed. There was another door ten feet away from Leon’s desk, just up a few steps of stairs. Trying the knob, Veronica found it to be locked, and once again, there was an insignia on it, but this time in the shape of a blue spade. <em> God, what is it with these doors?!  </em></p><p>"Where does this even lead?” Leon peeked through some small windows that looked out into a familiar room and blinked in surprise.</p><p>“It should go to the main hall. This is the reception room back at the start,” he pointed out.</p><p>“Interesting. Then we can easily get back this way. Just need the key. Was there anything useful in your desk?" she asked as she walked back to it. He met her there and started opening drawers until he found something. Lying in one, was a part to a gun.</p><p>“Yes! This is a high capacity mag clip!” he grinned, holding it up for her to see. She arched her eyebrow in confusion.</p><p>“A what?” He chuckled as he pulled out his gun.</p><p>“It’s for this specific type of gun. The department must have left it for me as a gift. It lets me shoot more bullets and makes it easier to reload. Matilda will love it!” he explained, filling it with ammo before placing it in the gun.</p><p>“Matilda?”</p><p>“Oh! Right! I named my gun that,” he told her shyly. “I saw the movie, ‘Léon: The Professional’ and, well, the main characters were named Léon and Mathilda.”</p><p>“Ah! I see. Since you have the same name…,” she giggled.</p><p>“I thought it would be cool!” Even with the only light being their flashlights, she could tell that he was blushing. She patted his shoulder reassuringly.</p><p>“I’m not judging! It’s cute! C’mon! We have to get a move on, Léon,” she teased while walking back towards the unlocked door out of there. He huffed in embarrassment before following her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Leon and Veronica begin exploring the west side of the building and start getting to know each other as well as figuring out how they're getting out along the way.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><b></b>Leon and Veronica decided to move on with their exploration of the station. This was only one small section of the entire place and they still had other floors to go through. They still didn’t quite understand the clues that Elliot had left behind yet, but they would in due time. Moving from the office, they decided to head down a long-marbled hallway towards the stairs. This part was unexplored, so they treaded carefully. At the end of the hallway was the base of the winding staircase lit by an exposed window.</p><p>To their right, Leon noticed a lone door and after looking at the map, he realized it was a dark room. He led them to it and carefully opened the door. The room was dark, but they quickly found it to be empty. Veronica closed the door and locked it while Leon turned on the light. It was small and plain, but it was safe. </p><p>In the middle of the room was a desk with a book and a lone typewriter sitting in the middle unused. There were lockers sitting against the wall and a coat hanger with dusty jackets hanging from it. Another big black box, similar to the one in the main hall, sat in a corner. Since the walls were concrete and that the metal door could be locked, they considered it a safe room to go to. It felt like they were in some sort of fucked up video game.</p><p>On the other side of the room was an entryway that led to the darkroom. It was very small compared to the room it was connected to and, of course, dark. There was a lone red light shining down onto a sink holding the components to expose unused film. A potted plant with red leaves sat on a cabinet containing different chemicals, which they thought was strange but ignored. Veronica took out the film they found from her pouch and looked at her companion.</p><p>“Know how to develop photos?” she asked.</p><p>“I don’t. Do you?”</p><p>“Kinda. My friend is a photographer. She showed me some basic stuff, but let’s see if I can remember any of it.” She took off her jacket and elbow pads before handing it to Leon to hold then rolled up the sleeves of her flannel. Luckily, she found some rubber gloves to use in a random drawer. After finally tying up her hair, she got quickly to work and tried to the best of her knowledge to develop the photo. At her command, Leon turned off the light, engulfing her in red as she hung it up. Once she was done, they left the darkroom and stood in the other.</p><p>“Hey. Can we like, sit down? I need a small break, and besides, we need to wait for the photo to do its thing anyways,” she sighed as she was handed back her things.</p><p>“Tired?”</p><p>“A little. I’m not as physically trained as you. Not to mention I haven’t rested for like a couple of hours now. Just for like 5 minutes?” He nodded in response.</p><p>“Sure. I could use the break too.” They both took a seat against the wall, taking out the candy bars Leon had gotten them to eat. After a moment of silence, minus the chewing, Leon looked over at her.</p><p>“So, do you live around here?” Veronica turned to glance at him before shaking her head.</p><p>“No. I actually live in Los Angeles.”</p><p>“Wow! Really? What are you doing all the way over here?”</p><p>“I came to visit one of my best friends. Decided to road trip it. She moved here after we graduated from college, so I wanted to see her new place and her new dog,” she looked down at the candy bar in her hand. “Then the outbreak happened.” Leon frowned.</p><p>“I’m sorry.” She shook her head.</p><p>“The thing is, I don’t even know if she’s dead. My car broke down just outside of the city when the sun was barely setting. It wasn’t even raining yet. No one answered their phones when I tried calling at a gas station before my car stalled, but I just thought they were busy. I had no idea what had happened until I walked here. I had been hiding and avoiding those things ever since.”</p><p>“Jesus! You’ve been walking around the city for that long? And alone?” She nodded and leaned her head back against the wall tiredly.</p><p>“Any type of shelter that I found wouldn’t let me in and they were already rare enough. It was obvious that they were terrified of letting those things in considering that most of the city has turned. The PSA’s that were playing told me to come here and instead of safety, things look just as bad,” she paused at the sudden thought of the safety of home. “God, my family doesn’t even know what’s going on. What if I never see them again? Will this spread? What if my friend is dead? I-I-,” She felt a hand grasp hers gently, stopping her in her rambling.</p><p>Turning her head, she found Leon sitting up and leaning over slightly with a concerned expression. She took a deep breath before releasing it as she felt him squeeze her hand reassuringly. It was nice and warm compared to when they first met. It was comforting.</p><p>“Sorry. I got a little stuck in my own head there for a second.”</p><p>“It’s alright. Just breathe,” he assured her, the two locking eyes. “We’re going to make it. Both of us. I promise.” She could see the conviction in his eyes, but also a gentleness that made her feel like she truly mattered to him. It was a nice feeling and it made her believe that he was going to fulfill that promise. She could only hope.</p><p>“No matter what?” she uttered softly.</p><p>“No matter what,” he echoed with a small smile. She mirrored it with a soft squeeze of his hand.</p><p>“What about you? Where are you from?”</p><p>“I live a state over from here. It’s a small town and you’ve probably never heard of it compared to the famous L.A,” he said while twinkling his fingers when he said the city’s name. She chuckled at that.</p><p>“Really? That’s kind of far for wanting to work here. I’m surprised you don’t live closer. How did you get saddled with that?”</p><p>“I actually requested to come here.” She raised an eyebrow at his response.</p><p>“How come?”</p><p>“Well, I was hearing about those really crazy murders that had been happening over the past couple of months and it piqued my interest! I love a good mystery!”</p><p>“Oh yeah! I heard about those! They were all over the news even where I live! The cannibals, right?” He nodded then opened his mouth to say something when something clicked in his head.</p><p>“Cannibals,” he scoffed in realization then looked around the room.</p><p>“What?” He looked back at her to find her looking confused at him.</p><p>“This zombie thing has been happening before the outbreak even started,” he responded. She scrunched up her eyebrows as she thought about it before coming to the same realization.</p><p>“Those people were eaten and they never found out who killed them. That means someone had already let loose whatever this was, but it didn’t spread till recently and that happened a while ago. Why didn’t it happen then?”</p><p>“Maybe something happened recently where whoever did this decided to just let it infect the city. But it’s too big of a deal that it could only be one person. This feels more than that.”</p><p>“I agree. You don’t just make zombies out of nowhere. Based on every zombie movie I have seen, that takes time and effort and science...or dark magic, but I’m going to say that’s not the case.”</p><p>“Whoever it is, we need to be careful. This case just got a whole lot more complicated.” She nodded and sighed at such an intense realization. It was exhilarating, but also terrifying.</p><p>  Deciding that they had rested enough after, the two crumpled up the candy bars to save for later and stood up. Once they were back on their feet, she went back to the darkroom to look at the photos and found it to be developing pretty fast.</p><p>“Wow! What are these made of ‘cause I think this doesn’t need that much longer,” she said walking back out. They began putting their equipment back together and searched the forgotten lockers for any supplies. There was a lone ink ribbon can in one and a blue gunpowder can in another. Leon put it in one of his pouches to keep for later. Looking over the desk, Veronica noticed the book that sat there talking about medicinal herbs. She read through it and tore out the page to keep.</p><p>“What’s that?”</p><p>“Apparently, there are herbs around here that could be helpful in speeding the healing process with minor injuries,” she explained, showing him the page. There were pictures showing three different colored herbs that were useful. “The green one heals basic injuries, the blue treats poisons and the red one is only useful when combined with the other two. It basically makes the other two stronger but doesn’t do anything by itself.” Leon studied the pictures then looked up in realization. He walked back into the darkroom and came out with the potted plant he saw.</p><p>“Is this the red herb?” She glanced between the picture and the plant.</p><p>“Looks like it. Now that I think about it, I’ve seen the green plant dotted around the station. I think there’s one right outside the door!” They both walked over to the door, unlocked it and carefully looked outside. It was still quiet and empty for the moment. Down on the floor, there was indeed a green herb plant sitting by a pile of wooden planks. </p><p>Leon quickly picked up the plant and walked back inside. The two picked leaves off of both plants and crushed them into a small plastic bag that Veronica found in the darkroom. She let Leon hold onto it since she had the spray in her bag.</p><p>“I’m going to need another pouch soon,” he said, zipping up his own.</p><p>“Hopefully we can find one around. This is a police station. There has to be more.”</p><p>“Hopefully.” He took out the map from his pocket and laid it out onto the table for the two of them to see. Unfortunately, it was only to the first floor, and it seemed like almost every room they’ve been in on that side of the building was clear minus the ones they couldn’t get into. They were going to have to go into the other floors blindly until they could find a better map. </p><p>Before they could leave, Veronica decided to take a look at the photo and found it almost completely developed. The photo was of a white statue of a king with a jeweled scepter in one hand and a red book in the other. Comparing it to the notes in Elliot’s book, it didn’t add up.</p><p>“Seems like a waste of time,” she said, folding it up and shoving it in her back pocket.</p><p>“I don’t know. Something tells me that if it was important enough to take and lock up, then it has a purpose.” Taking one last look at their things, the two glanced at each other then nodded before heading towards the door.</p><p>Carefully, they stepped out into the hallway and looked around. There was a soft gurgling sound of a zombie coming from above them, but from which floor they didn’t know. As Leon glanced down the hallway to make sure it was clear, Veronica’s foot accidentally tapped against the wood panels on the floor they saw earlier. She bit her lip as she thought of any uses they could be of when she realized the nearby window wasn’t boarded up. Remembering the zombie crawling in from before, she picked them up and set them on the stairs. To her luck, some tools were left in a box under the stairs hidden by some boxes.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Leon asked in a low voice coming up from behind her.</p><p>“We should board this up. I don’t want any more of those things getting in,” she replied, picking up a plank. “Especially now that we’ve cleared this floor.”</p><p>“Are you sure about this? It’s going to be loud.”</p><p>“We have a room we can hide in if those things turn up. After hiding from them all day, I learned that once you’re out of sight and quiet for a good while, they’ll forget your there and walk away. We can handle the ones inside, but do you really want to handle the ones outside too?” He contemplated it for a moment before realizing she was right and grabbing the other end of the plank. </p><p>It didn’t take long to put them up, but it did capture some unwanted attention. A zombie woke up from its spot on the second floor and was starting to rise from where Leon could see. Hammering down the last board, they made it in time for another zombie to slam against the window, but it wasn’t getting in.</p><p>Veronica decided to take some extra nails and the hammer with her. You never know when you would have to board up another window. Plus, the hammer was just another weapon. The zombie was of a woman police officer with a disfigured face. It took quite a few bullets with her since it was hard to shoot on a weird slope.</p><p>Once she was down, they made their way up to the second floor, to find another one coming from the third floor. They backed away on the stairs to give themselves space then watched to their amusement as the zombie fell over the railing and hit the bottom floor with a splat. Peeking over, they waited for it to get up again, but it didn’t. Leon aimed his gun and shot at the head, just in case, where it exploded from the momentum. It definitely wasn't going to get back up again. </p><p>Back to exploring the place, they found more ammo and a red herb that they put the leaves into their pouches to crush up for later. The only other thing on the second-floor stairwell was a door leading to the boy’s locker room. As they approached it, Leon looked over at Veronica with a smirk.</p><p>"Ma'am, this is the men's locker room. I'm afraid you can't go in. Naked guys and all that," he joked. She cracked a smile and sighed dramatically. </p><p>"Alas! The only thing that can possibly stop me! Men's asscheeks!" They laughed wholeheartedly at that, both glad to know they still had the ability to at all in this situation. </p><p>“Don't worry officer. I’ll cover my eyes. Promise!” she joked before taking the door handle in hand. “Ready?” </p><p>Leon nodded while aiming his gun at the door. She quickly twisted the knob and shoved the door open, quickly getting out of the way. The room was small as it was meant to be the changing area, but there was a loud hissing noise that filled the room. The pair soon realized it was because the water heater that was in the actual shower room was punctured, blowing hot steam out and blocking the pathway forward. Next to that doorway was a pipe that looked like it could fix the issue, but the handle to control the pressure was missing.</p><p>“Must be here somewhere, right?” Leon questioned. Veronica nodded in response as she examined the lockers next to them. One of them had a padlock on it that needed a code. She opened the one next to it and found nothing. Leon opened the one next to that only to shout in surprise as a body fell out onto him. </p><p>He quickly shoved it away and aimed his gun at it. She toed at the crumpled body to see if it would move, but it looked to be properly dead. Aiming her flashlight into the locker, she found it was drenched in blood.</p><p>“It looks like he was stuffed in there. How did he end up like that?” she questioned curiously. “Do you think what happened to him, happened to the guys downstairs?”</p><p>“It’s possible, but what could’ve possibly been able to do it?”</p><p>“At this point, I’m willing to believe anything.” Leon exhaled nervously, putting his gun back into his holster. “You ok? Get a little spooked there?”</p><p>“No, yeah I’m fine!” he replied trying to seem like he wasn't just scared out of his wits. He puffed out his chest and began walking to the other lockers, only this time, opening them quickly and backing away. The only thing left in them was a box of shotgun ammo. “Well we know where that is, so let’s just leave it here until we get it.” </p><p>As Veronica was looking through a rack of towels, she found a small box with buttons on it. Curiously, she pushed a button causing it to beep loudly and one of the lights on it glowed up. Leon walked over and looked at it then at a paper that was taped to the wall.</p><p>“What is this thing?” she asked, pressing more buttons.</p><p>“It’s a portable safe. ‘The buttons must be pressed in a certain order. Pressing a single button out of order will cause all of the lights to go out and you will need to start the sequence over again,’” he read on the wall.</p><p>“There might be something useful in it. Can I try to open it?”</p><p>“Go ahead.”</p><p>She tinkered around with the buttons for a minute and found it kind of fun to do. It was like a puzzle and she was in some fucked up mystery game. After a minute, the lights were all lit and the box beeped a short song before it opened itself. </p><p>“Got it!”</p><p>“Great job!”</p><p>“Good thing I like to do puzzles,” she told him as she opened the safe. Inside was a small white square button. It took her a second before she realized what it was for. “Oh! It’s for downstairs! For the keypad!”</p><p>“The safety deposit room!” </p><p>“That means there must be another one somewhere in the station too. Should we go put it in now?”</p><p>“Might as well before we head upstairs.”</p><p>They both made their way out of the room and down the stairs towards the safety deposit room. Leon scanned the lockers for options to decide which space to put the button in. It could only do one space, so they needed to pick wisely.</p><p>“I say we put it in 2. There are more lockers with that number.” She inserted it on the spot and inputted the numbers Leon told her. He came back with a lone jar of gunpowder, but she was confused since she opened two.</p><p>“Where’s the other one?”</p><p>“It was shotgun ammo. We’ll have to wait till later to get it.”</p><p>"Got it! Let's head back upstairs. We have another floor to go to!" They quickly ran upstairs towards the third floor.  On it, they found some more ammo for Leon and another padlocked locker with a code at the end of a blocked-off hallway. The only way through was through a wall that looked like it was bulldozed through leaving a giant hole. </p><p>As they walked closer to it, there was a shadow of someone standing in front of a light against the wall. It almost gave the young girl a heart attack. Carefully, they approached the hole and peeked in, only to find that it was a tiny mannequin sitting in front of a desk lamp. They sighed in relief that there was nobody there as they walked in. </p><p>It looked to be like a small office with a desk and bookshelves. On said desk was a key with a teal-colored spade on the end. It looked familiar. Veronica picked it up and studied it for a second, racking her brain for a connection, the lightbulb in her head going off as soon as it did.</p><p>"This must be for those doors!"</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"I saw a couple of doors with shapes on them that were locked. A green club and-."</p><p>"A blue spade! Like down in the west office!"</p><p>"So this must open doors with that shape on it! Which makes getting to the main hall easier!" she pointed out, placing it into a pouch. “Considering that there looks like there’s more than one shape, that might mean there’s more than one key.”</p><p>“More things to keep an eye out for then. Hey,” he gently elbowed her arm, “You’re really good at this.” She smiled at him shyly at his compliment.</p><p>“You’re not too bad at this yourself,” she responded before walking to a door that would lead to another part of the floor. She slowly opened the door to a dark cramped hallway, light only coming in from the window near the end of it. It was really dusty and cold, the only sound being the wood creaking beneath their feet. </p><p>As they neared the window, something large and fast crawled across it snarling like an animal. Stopping dead in their tracks, they heard whatever it was break a window somewhere in the building, meaning it was inside. Veronica grasped onto her partner's arm in fear. <em> That was a big...whatever it was. </em></p><p>“What in the-!?” Leon gasped. They stood there for a moment quietly to see if they could hear anything else but was met with only silence. Whether it was better or worse, they didn’t know. Carefully, they turned the corner relieved to find the hallway empty and blocked off by boxes. Near a cart of books to their left, stood a door leading them forward. Leon took a second to check the blockade for anything first and picked up a slip of paper.</p><p>“What does it say?” Veronica asked from behind him. He turned and read aloud.</p><p>“‘To any survivors, Consider this a gift for anyone still unfortunate enough to be alive. Keep your eyes peeled for those creepy fucks that look like they were skinned alive- ‘lickers’,” we call ‘em.”’ </p><p>“I’m sorry. WHAT?!”</p><p>“‘They’re blind as bats, but their hearing more than makes up for that. So long as you don’t run around like a total idiot, guns a-blazing, you should be able to slip right by them...probably. Either way, make like my grandma and creep around as slow as possible around ‘em, yeah? Anyway, not that I wanna go, but duty calls. That, and I’ve got a friend to avenge. - David.”’ Leon folded up the paper and put it in his pocket. </p><p>“What the fuck is a “licker”?!” Veronica hissed, terrified out of her mind of having to deal with something else besides zombies. Leon turned to her, shaking his head.</p><p>“No idea. This is the first I’ve ever heard  of it.”</p><p>“Geez, what else do we have to worry about in this city!?” </p><p>“I’m praying nothing else, but it seems to prove us wrong every time,” he said making his way to the door. Inside they were met with a trashed up room that smelled of musty cement and the decay of bodies. The ceiling looked as if it could fall down on them with how many holes there were. It was a mess that was made as if it was to be under renovation but then the outbreak must’ve happened before they could fully finish. The people must have tried to use the room for a hiding place as well.</p><p>A light on the floor lit up that side of the room, revealing more giant scratches on a pillar, much to their horror. On a dresser, Leon found more gunpowder and more planks of wood on the floor. There also looked like there was old art and pictures lying around, including a creepy looking jester doll. <em> Comforting </em>. Turning a corner, they were met with a dead man hanging down from the rafters of the ceiling in front of a lit-up door. As they passed it, the body slid down a little causing the two to gasp in surprise.</p><p>When it didn’t move, they continued around the room and cleared it of any threats. Leon shoved his gun back in his holster safely to free his hands while they searched. They walked around looking for supplies, which Veronica luckily found ammo on a random shelf.</p><p>“Leon!” She handed him the box and watched him pull out the gunpowder cans that he had in his pouch. She watched in amazement as he worked some magic to create more handgun bullets. He explained to her how to do it in case they were separated for any reason, which she hoped wouldn’t happen. Putting the new bullets in his bag, he looked at Veronica with a sigh.</p><p>“I’m running out of room. If we find anything else, you mind taking it?” he asked. She nodded, checking her own pouch for a status on its space. Leon walked towards the section of a room that was barred off and found that inside was a statue of a lady standing under a light on one side of the space. Peeking to the right, there was a pile of dead officers lying around looking like they went through a massacre. </p><p>At that side, the cell was boarded up with a plethora of giant planks of wood. Smack dab in the middle was a small pile of explosives taped to it, but with no way to detonate it. Something about that statue seemed to be familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He turned to Veronica to ask, but found her reading a piece of paper with a hand over her mouth in shock.</p><p>“Veronica?” She looked up at him in disbelief at what she was reading. She held out the paper out for him to read with no response, putting him on edge. He took it and began reading to himself, eyes furrowing halfway through.</p><p>‘Damn those corporate assholes! They cut me off! After all I’ve done for them! But if that’s how it’s gonna be, so be it. I’m gonna have a little fun of my own as the world goes to shit. I boarded all those filthy pigs up in a steel pen, and set some C4. All I gotta do is detonate it and it’s “sayonara suckers”! But it’s no fun if it’s over too soon, so maybe I’ll give that one raving loon something to really squeal about. Yeah maybe I’ll give him a little toy and tell him, “Kill the guy next to you and I’ll spare the others.” I wonder what he’ll do. You yell about “justice” and “pride” but how many times did you go against me, your own superior? Yeah, you’re such a good cop...So good you had to die. Man is this fun. I need some music for this.’ </p><p>“Leon, what the fuck!?” she hissed as he set the paper down on the dresser it was sitting on. The young officer shook his head angrily looking back at the bars where the bodies laid.</p><p>“I don’t know! He must’ve been a psycho." He turned his head back to her worriedly. “Listen, I don’t know who that was, but it sounds like he was a high ranking officer, so it couldn’t be Marvin. But we have to be careful if we meet any other officers, ok?”</p><p>She could only nod in response, trying to take her attention away from the words on the page. How could anyone turn against their own like that in a zombie outbreak?! Some people really were just psychos. </p><p>“We should move on.”</p><p>“Right. There’s a statue in there,” he pointed out with a nod of his head, gesturing to it. “Does it look familiar to you?” She walked over towards the bars and looked over the beautiful marble art piece. In the middle of the lady’s belt was a bronze circle that looked like something she had seen before. Leon suddenly gasped softly as he realized what it was. </p><p>“Wait! Hand me the little book with the clues!” She quickly reached into her pocket and handed it to him. He flipped through it and glanced from time to time up to the statue. “That’s it!”</p><p>“What? What’s it?”</p><p>“A part of the way out! That medallion goes into the goddess statue downstairs!” He handed the book back to her.</p><p>“Great! So how do we get in then?” Leon looked at the explosives on the wall.</p><p>“We find the detonator!”</p><p>“Leon are you crazy?!”</p><p>“There are enough explosives on it to only blow up the boards, not the room. They’re too big and too heavy to pull down by ourselves. It’ll be quicker that way.”</p><p>“Are you sure?” she asked, clearly nervous at the idea. He placed his arms on her shoulders, squeezing reassuringly.</p><p>“I’m positive. Do you trust me?”</p><p>“Of course!”</p><p>“Then trust me when I say it’ll be fine!” She pondered it for a moment before nodding.</p><p>“Ok. We’ll have to go find it. That and the other statues.” He dropped his hands and began walking to the lit door they saw earlier</p><p>“I’m sure those will be easier to find being statues and all.” Veronica followed while looking in the book again. After a moment of studying the images, she realized where she had seen one of them.</p><p>“Actually, one of them is! I remember there is a lion statue in the main hall on the second floor. I noticed it before, but I got distracted by everything else that was happening!”</p><p>“That’s great! We know where two of them are, leaving only one more! Let’s go!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>While trying to find the other statues, Marvin calls them to return. Apparently, a visitor was waiting for them on the outside.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ah yes, my beautiful Claire Redfield. What a babe!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leon pulled out his gun and walked through the door slowly. The two of them were met with warm light and found themselves on the second floor of a library. It was a beautiful room lined with emerald green wallpaper and wooden trimmings, but if you looked down on the first floor, you were met with the ugly reality. </p><p>Looking over the railing, they watched as a zombie feasted on the back of a dead man and another zombie wandering around aimlessly. Dead police officers were splayed across the floor along with books that were scattered all over the place. They noticed that there was a walkway on their floor that was broken to their left and nothing to their right. As they were quietly walking across to the other side, trying not to get unwanted attention, Leon’s radio suddenly hissed loudly. He reached up so fast to cover the sound.</p><p>“Leon, it’s Marvin,” Marvin’s voice radioed in. “I need you back here ASAP.” He sounded rough, clearly still struggling with his injuries. Leon clicked a button and leaned in to respond.</p><p>“Are you ok, Marvin?”</p><p>“I’ve got something to show you. It’s important.”</p><p>“Copy that, we’ll be right there.” As they walked to the first floor, they noticed a door that required the spade key. If their calculations were correct, it should lead to the main hall. Quietly, they crept up to the door, but just as Veronica got out the key, a zombie that was lying on the floor next to the door suddenly screamed at them, catching the attention of the other two zombies in the room.</p><p>“Fuck!” They backed away and Leon began shooting, gunshots ringing through the room. Then just as suddenly, his gun clicked empty, which meant he had to reload fast. Both retreated back while Veronica took the defensive mode, swinging her pole at the dead if they got too close while he reloaded his gun. They backed themselves up the stairs, and to Veronica's luck, her foot missed a step causing her to yell as she fell back and dropped her weapon. </p><p>One of those things grabbed her ankle trying to pull her down, but thinking quickly she pulled out the knife and stabbed it through the face. She kicked him back against the other two just in time for Leon to begin shooting again. Once they were all down and stunned, Veronica used the extra hammer she had and with the claw end of it, she destroyed the brain. Leon helped by using his own knife on the others.</p><p>They pulled back trying to catch their breath, Veronica bending down to rest her hands on her knees. <em> Fuck that was close! </em> She put her weapons away, finding the pole and pulling the knife out of the zombie’s head. Leon found another knife in a dead police officer taking it in case he lost the one he already had. They did notice a door at the foot of the stairs, but they decided that since Marvin needed them, they had to forgo exploring anymore for now. </p><p>However, just as Leon was unlocking the spade door, Veronica noticed a strange-looking book on a table. It looked to be made of stone and it had a strange imprint in it. Taking it into her hand, she reached into her back pocket for the book and brought out both the book and the picture they developed. </p><p>Something told her to look at it one more time so unfolding it, she realized her intuition was right. The statue in the picture was holding a book just like the one she was holding. Perhaps this was important after all. She decided to take it, holding it in her hand as they made their way out into the main hall.</p><p>Looking over the balcony, they found Marvin still alive and clicking at the computer. The hall still looked safe despite an area open to walk in through. They quickly jogged down the stairs, Marvin looking relieved to see them.</p><p>“There you both are...Come here, take a look,” he grunted, clicking a tab open on the computer. They walked closer watching him work through the pain to do it. Camera feed from outside of the station expanded showing a girl staring at the police station gates. <em> Another survivor! </em></p><p>“Yes! I knew she’d make it!” Leon exclaimed. Both Marvin and Veronica looked up at him in surprise.</p><p>“You know her?” Marvin questioned, voice strained.</p><p>“Yeah, name’s Claire. I came into town with her.” </p><p>“You can get to that courtyard through the second floor...east side,” Marvin pointed with his thumb towards the opposite side of the building.</p><p>“We’re on it,” Leon paused for a moment, eyes softening at Marvin. “Thanks...Lieutenant.” Veronica nodded in agreement, wishing she could somehow help the injured man. </p><p>"Glad to see you’re still alive, California girl," Marvin joked to her softly, trying to get her to smile. It worked as a sad smile spread on her face. Leon looked over at her then took out his gun.</p><p>“Ready?” he asked.</p><p>“Ready.”</p><p>The pair began making their way up the stairs when something caught her eye. To their left on the landing, there was the golden lion statue that she had mentioned before. She pointed it out to Leon who agreed with her to get it after they went to see Claire.</p><p>They walked down across the balcony towards the door Marvin told them about. Carefully, Leon pushed it open revealing a well-lit waiting room of sorts. For some reason, the room looked as if nothing had happened. It wasn’t trashed or bloody, just empty. It might have been the eeriest room so far looking so normal. </p><p>Veronica took a couple of leaves from a green herb that sat on a table used as a decoration and smashed them, as well as the red herb from earlier in her fingers, dumping them into their herb bag. While she did that, Leon checked behind the information desk that sat next to the opposite door. </p><p>“There’s a safe back here that could be something useful.” Veronica hummed as she walked over, looking at the papers strewn across the counter. There was a guide pamphlet sitting in the middle and curiously, she opened it and skimmed through it.</p><p>“Wow. This city sure is proud to be with the Umbrella Corporation, huh?” she mumbled. Leon walked around to peek at it over her shoulder.</p><p>“Yeah, I guess they do. I mean did you see the city limit sign a few miles out of town? It screamed “We love Umbrella!”.</p><p>“True.” She read a little more and raised her eyebrows. “What Elliot said was also true. This place used to be an art museum before it was turned into the police station. No wonder the place is gorgeous.” Setting down the pamphlet, the pair walked up to the door which had the spade emblem on it. Leon unlocked it swiftly then brought out his gun. He cracked the door open, then pushed it away. </p><p>Gazing out, they were met with a dimly lit hallway, with light coming from emergency lights on the walls. They walked carefully to their left only to be met with the hallway being cut off by a metal shutter. A place meant for a crank to open it was left empty on the wall next to it. There were more boards lying around and there was a door to an art room as the sign above it said. </p><p>The young lady peeked into the room while Leon surveyed the hallway and found it to be empty besides a plethora of old dusty artwork and a very familiar-looking statue. She gasped softly and called for Leon as she walked in. Pulling the picture out of her pocket, she confirmed what she had suspected. It was the same king statue on the picture, and right next to it on a small table was a part of its hand that was empty. Fitting the book that she had found inside, it was a perfect fit, so thinking further, she placed it onto the statue with a loud click.</p><p>Suddenly the other arm of the statue holding the ruby scepter twisted till its palm was up. Then the fingers pulled away from the scepter allowing them to grab it. Veronica took it in her hand and examined it. </p><p>“What’s so special about this?” she asked. Leon shrugged as he turned towards a small table to look around. On it was a thin white keycard that said was labeled for the weapons locker and Leon rejoiced in how they could now get the shotgun. Next to it was a magazine that talked about the jewel in the middle of the scepter and how it was sought after by a lot of people, but nothing really helpful.</p><p>Turning the scepter in her hand, she was surprised to see a small switch near the bottom of the jewel. Curiously, she clicked it forward and the jewel popped out freely into her hand. She held it up for Leon to see.</p><p>“Uh...what should I do with this?” He looked just as confused. </p><p>“I...guess keep it? I don’t know.”</p><p>“I guess so. Maybe I’ll sell it to the highest bidder when we get out of here to pay for my therapy,” she joked dryly as she placed it in her pouch. Leon nodded in agreement with a light chuckle.</p><p>“Can I get in on that?”</p><p>“We’ll split it 50/50,” she chuckled as they walked back out into the hallway. As they drew closer to the corner, Leon noticed there was a distant buzzing sound coming from somewhere outside. Veronica seemed to notice it too and glanced outside a window to see if she could find the source.</p><p>“Sounds like a helicopter,” she whispered. It could get them out of there! Still listening, they realized it was getting louder by the second.</p><p>“Sounds a little low, don’t you think?”</p><p>“Maybe it’s landing?” As they drew closer down the hallway, the sound was suddenly very loud and very close. It sounded like it was heading their way at rapid speeds.  Leon realized immediately that something was wrong and grabbed the young girl’s hand quickly pulling her back the way they came from. Not even a second later, the helicopter zoomed into the building, crashing through the wall with a loud smash, leaving dust in its wake.</p><p>The building shook at the collision, stopping the pair as they stumbled. Veronica lost her footing and fell forward, but Leon quickly caught her in his arms. Her hands grasped at his shoulders for purchase while he gripped her waist. Glancing up at him, she felt her cheeks warm. His face was really close and his hands were warm on her hips. Pulling away quickly, she thanked him then looked back at the hallway they were in. </p><p>It was still intact, but upon closer inspection, it was cut off around the corner by the crash. The only way through was to go around or go through the door leading to an outside stairwell. They quickly ran out taking a look at the crash site, rain coming down like never before. The pilot’s body was entangled in a metal mess, there was no way he could have survived. </p><p>“HEY!” a girl’s voice suddenly shouted out to them. “LEON!?” The pair followed the voice and looked over the stair railing to see a girl standing outside of the fence in a courtyard. Familiarity filled Leon’s face as he realized who it was.</p><p>“CLAIRE! HOLD ON! WE’LL BE RIGHT THERE!”</p><p>“OK!” </p><p>The two quickly ran down the stairs to the chain-linked fence where Claire was trying to open what looked like a locked door. Walking up, Leon grasped at the wire fence while Veronica stood by his side feeling like a sore thumb. Claire was a beautiful girl in her red leather jacket and jeans. Her soaked brown hair was up in a ponytail and she was frankly just plain beautiful. If the situation were different enough where she met Claire instead of Leon, she might’ve fallen for her. <em> Wow, ok now is not the time to be in a bisexual panic. We are in a zombie outbreak, calm down! </em></p><p>“Claire...It is so nice to see you,” Leon sighed. Veronica had to agree, seeing another living human being was very nice indeed.</p><p>“How’re you doing? That helicopter just came out of nowhere…” she nodded up to the crash site. Leon glanced over at it for a second while nodding.</p><p>“Yeah...I’m in one piece.” Claire nodded for a moment before her blue eyes flicked over to Veronica.</p><p>“Who’s this?” Leon turned his head over and smiled.</p><p>“This is my partner, Veronica. Met her here along with another officer.”</p><p>“Partner, huh? Hi Veronica! It’s nice to see someone is still alive!” Claire grinned and Veronica couldn’t help but mirror it.</p><p>“Likewise. It’s really nice to meet you, Claire,” said girl replied, rubbing her arm as the other’s eyes met hers. Glancing over at Leon, his eyes were also on Veronica. <em> Holy shit, both of them are looking at me and their both beautiful literally what the fuck! </em> She cleared her throat and looked away, seemingly stopping the other two from staring. When Leon faced Claire again, she raised her eyebrows suggestively at him causing him to clear his throat as well in embarrassment. Even in the dark, you could tell a light blush had spread across his cheeks.</p><p>“I’m guessing you don’t have a key in one of those fancy pockets?” Claire asked looking between the other pair’s pouches.</p><p>“Unfortunately, no...But, how are you doing?”</p><p>“You know,” she shrugged playfully as she leaned an arm against the gate, “just surviving.” Both Leon and Veronica chuckled at that.</p><p>“That’s good. Any luck with your brother?”</p><p>“Your brother?” Veronica asked. Claire looked at her and nodded.</p><p>“Yeah, I came here looking for my brother, Chris. He works here, but no, not yet.”</p><p>“Claire, don’t lose hope...I’m sure we’re gonna find him-,” Leon began when suddenly, a giant explosion from behind them interrupted him. Turning around, the helicopter had caught on fire causing the fire alarm bell to ring loudly into the night. </p><p>“Damn it. You know what that means,” he stated grimly. Claire turned around at the sounds of snarling coming from behind her. A body was already sitting up near a bench at the end of the courtyard.</p><p>“Yeah...Dinner time,” she mumbled, taking out her gun.</p><p>“Is there a way you can climb the fence?” Veronica asked fearful for Claire’s safety, her hands reaching up to grip the cold wire only for Leon to shake his head.</p><p>“Barbed wire is a bitch to get through unscathed,” he responded. Looking up, there was indeed barbed wire laced around the top of the fence. “Claire, I think you should go.” Claire turned back to face them.</p><p>“Don’t worry about me, guys. You take care of yourselves.” The farther fence that surrounded the building was beginning to shake with the amount of undead trying to get in.</p><p>“Claire, you need to go- NOW!” Leon urged.</p><p>“Please be careful,” Veronica pleaded, watching sadly as Claire began to walk away before turning again to look at them.</p><p>“Hey...Let’s get through this. All of us,” she concluded with conviction. The other two nodded in response before watching her run away into the night, deftly avoiding the dead. They pulled away from the fence as some zombies began to make their way toward them. However, they were safe due to the damn thing standing in the way of reuniting them with Claire. As Leon radioed in to fill in on Marvin, Veronica looked around for supplies.</p><p>“Uh, Marvin. I’ve got a situation here...We’re surrounded by zombies!” There was no response, stopping Veronica in her search. “Marvin! Do you copy? “Again no response. “Marvin!?” Nothing. “Dammit!”</p><p>“We’ll have to check on him as soon as we get back inside!” </p><p>“Yeah. The upstairs might be on fire, so we’ll have to go this way,” he pointed to the metal door. She handed him some bullets she found then turned to the door that was chained up. Luckily, a pair of bolt cutters were sitting on a toolbox next to it.</p><p>“If I remember right, this should be the area I was in earlier before you guys found me,” Leon said grabbing the tool and cutting the chain with a grunt. “So be on high alert. I managed to take out the ones I saw, but who knows if there are a couple of ones I missed.” Veronica nodded before twisting the knob to open the door. </p><p>Pushing it open, they were met with a dark hallway only familiar to Leon. The floor was drenched in blood coming from the pile of bodies lying about. Up ahead was, according to the map, the East Office which looked like they could cut through to the other side. The window shutters didn't reveal much other than it was lit better than expected and maybe one zombie standing around. Just to their right, was another door but Leon only shook his head when she tried opening it or peeking through the windows. </p><p>"You don't want to see it, trust me. Elliot's in there." That was enough for her.</p><p>Leading the way, he walked in and shined his flashlight at the office door that he hadn’t gotten into due to it being chained up. To their left, there was the hallway that curved at a corner and it was pitch black. Perhaps going through the office was the better choice. </p><p>Just as he was about to cut it, a zombie began trying to crawl through a broken window that they passed. Veronica took her pole in hand and ran at the window, quickly spiking the dead man through the head. He grew limp and fell into the room dead. Turning around, she met back up with Leon at the door that he got open. </p><p>“Think we should board that window up?” he suggested. </p><p>“I think I saw some boards outside. Give me hand,” she responded, running back out to grab them. The two quickly made work of the window, leaving a couple of boards left over. When they were done, they walked into the room and found it to be pretty big and sure enough, there was only one zombie. Leon quickly disposed of it, easy since it was only one and they had the space to run around. Once it was down, Veronica grabbed more green herb leaves from a planter that sat on top of a table. </p><p>She turned back around just in time to see a zombie slam itself at another window next to a dead body that was hunched against the wall. The pair quickly used the leftover boards from the last window to quickly cover it up before it could break the glass. Checking her pouch, the girl made sure to tell her partner that she was out of nails for the time being. </p><p>Leon checked the body on the floor next to them, finding some more ammo in a gun similar to his while Veronica found a weird canister on a desk. It was blue and had a round pin attached to the top. Reading the label, it said that it was a flash grenade</p><p>“What does a flash grenade do?” she asked, lifting it up for Leon to see. He looked up from reloading his gun then walked toward her.</p><p>“Just like it says! It’s not necessarily a traditional grenade perse, but after you pull the pin, you throw it and it explodes with a bright flash of light. It’ll blind and stun whatever it is that could be attacking you. Just whatever you do, say it out loud that you're about to throw it before you do. And close your eyes after you pull it. Try to make sure it’s thrown away from you or me,” he explained. She nodded and hooked it around one of her belt loops in case of an emergency.</p><p>They continued searching the room for more supplies, looking out for things that they needed for the other parts of the station. Leon decided to go through the desks, while Veronica walked into a side office meant for a higher ranking officer. On the desk sitting next to a toolbox, was a red valve that looked like it belonged up in the locker room on the second floor. <em> Can't leave without that! </em></p><p>Before leaving, a yellow canister on the dresser behind the desk caught her eye and found it was higher grade gunpowder. Putting it away, she met Leon by a set of double doors that were blocked off by a chair with books. It would lead to the other side of the area, including the gate back to the main hall. They yanked it out from under the doorknobs, now unlocking the room on both sides.</p><p>“Find anything?” she asked.</p><p>“Found a fuse and some gunpowder,” he replied, showing the fuse. “This will go on the box just outside these doors, opening back up to the main hall. Did you find something?”</p><p>“I found the valve for the upstairs locker room! We can now explore more of the second floor!”</p><p>“Wow! Great job!”</p><p>“Mhm! That and I found a jar of the higher grade gunpowder. You said it could make more shotgun ammo, right?”</p><p>“Yeah, when combined with the blue one, which I conveniently just found! So that’s really good to have!”</p><p>“Do you think we should just clear this floor before we head back?”</p><p>“Maybe later. I want to check on Marvin first. Make sure he’s ok.” Veronica nodded but pursed her lips in conflict. She needed to tell Leon that Marvin wasn’t going to make it, but she didn’t have the heart to. He was so determined that the lieutenant would leave with them once they’ve found the way out. Maybe they could find help if they get out of the city, but will it even be enough time before he turns? She stopped herself a little annoyed that she wasn't saying anything. The least she could do was let him check on him first.</p><p>The two walked out, finding the hallway empty and mostly quiet. Perhaps Leon did get all of them when he was here. The floor was flooded with water but still reeked of blood. As they neared the metal shutter that Leon was pinned under when they first met, they found the remains of his attacker. Leon scowled at it before placing the fuse in the exposed fuse box attached to the wall. </p><p>As soon as it was in place, the gate climbed up noisily leading them back to the familiar main hall. The room was still quiet, save for Marvin’s labored breathing that they could hear echo in the room. It seemed to still be considered safe as they walked over to the goddess statue. </p><p>Breathing a sigh of relief, they found Marvin lying across the bench he was sitting on when they left, unconscious, but still groaning in pain. He looked much worse since they had gone to see Claire. His skin was pale and splotchy, veins more noticeable and dark against his glassy skin. His hands were covered in blood and his shirt was drenched in it. </p><p>“Still alive,” Leon breathed softly. <em> But for how much longer? </em> Veronica turned to the younger officer and opened her mouth to tell him, only for nothing to come out. “We don’t have much time. We have to get him help as soon as we possibly can. Let’s go!”</p><p>Scolding herself in her head, she followed him to the spade door and watched as he unlocked it. Instead of going through it, however, he turned and began walking to the reception area that they started out in.</p><p>“Uh, where are we going?” she asked. </p><p>“We have the bolt cutters now! We should go back to the Operations Room and open that chained door we saw. We should be able to get through to that side of the building regardless.”</p><p>“But we should be careful. That hallway has a lot of broken windows. There's probably gonna be zombies everywhere.”</p><p>They quickly made their way through the dark hallway. Surprisingly, it wasn’t filled with those monsters, only a couple had managed to get in and wander around aimlessly. With their knives and other blunt weapons, they were able to silently kill the one’s in their path and snuck past the ones they couldn’t. The Operations Room hadn’t changed since they were last there, which was a good thing. </p><p>They broke through the chains around the door handle and walked into the room. There was a desk right when they walked in where they found the detonator to the upstairs bomb trap. Carefully looking at it, Leon hummed curiously.</p><p>“It needs a battery. Without it, it won’t go off, so we’ll have to find one that’ll fit.”</p><p>“God, it seems like the list goes on and on, huh?”</p><p>“Never ends in a zombie apocalypse”. Looking around, Veronica saw a clue to something that could help.</p><p>“Hey! This is useful!” Leon turned to a whiteboard that stood against the wall behind them. On it was written ‘Locker Room CAP’ with the three letters circled. “Since we’re heading up there anyways, might as well open that locker!”</p><p>Glancing around the room, there were messily stocked up storage shelves and chairs piled up in a corner. On the other side of the room were two doors, one with a red heart emblem, the other that should lead to the hallway where the west office was, according to the map. Both doors were locked with the heart door needing the right key and the other was deadbolted on their side.</p><p>On one of the chairs, Leon found another flash grenade, which he hooked up to his belt since she already had one. There was also another potted plant of green herb, but they were already stocked up for the moment. Taking a second on inventory, Veronica sighed tiredly trying to think about all of the things in the building that were useful. It was too much! She glanced back at the desk where they found the detonator and thought about maybe making her life easier.</p><p>Walking over to the desk, she began looking through the drawers. To her delight, she found what she was looking for, a black marker. She turned to her partner who was watching her curiously.</p><p>“Can I see the map please?” He reached into his back pocket and handed it to her. She unfolded it, placing it on the table.</p><p>“What are you doing?” </p><p>“I’m taking some inventory. Here, use the little book to make your own list, in case we lose the map,” she told him, handing him the book and another pen from the drawer.</p><p>“Not a bad idea. I was starting to forget what we needed,” he admitted while taking the objects.</p><p>“So, we only have this floor for now. What do we have, what do we need to get, and what have we left behind?”</p><p>“There’s a green herb in here and that door is a heart key door,” he began listing. She marked on the map where items were and what pathways were not open. Leon listed it manually in the booklet to the best of his abilities including the other areas of the station. Moreso about items to get, things to look out for, and objectives to do. Once they were done, they kept their writing utensils for future use then began making their way out into the hallway.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Things begin to get a little more intense as the pair come across a new gun, as well as a new monster.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The two survivors ran into the security deposit room and towards the back to finally get the weapon they wanted. Using the new keycard they had found, Leon happily opened the weapons locker. With a beep, the doors slid open rewarding them with the shotgun and a box of ammo to start with. Leon pulled out the gun checking it for ammo, while Veronica grabbed the box reading the name on it, ‘Steel Boys’.</p><p>“Hm, I got some steely boys for you, Leon,” she giggled. It was dumb, but it felt nice to laugh every once in a while. He grinned while shaking his head before taking the box. He put two more bullets into the gun then cocked it, now ready for use.</p><p>“Thanks. Here, this is going to be your gun,” he told her, holding it out to try and give it to her. Instead, he was met with resistance.</p><p>“Whoa! No! Leon! Th-that’s a big gun!” she panicked, trying to back away and shoved it back in his hands. He blinked, shocked at her response.</p><p>“I know, that’s why I’m letting you use it. It has more firepower which will be good for protecting you. If you shoot at the head at a closer range, the zombie is done for. If I let you use a smaller gun, it’ll be harder for you to aim as a beginner,” he explained, trying to hand it back. </p><p>When she didn’t grab it right away, he gently took one of her hands and wrapped it around the barrel. Veronica felt her arms shake nervously as he did the same with her other hand, keeping them in their place with his own. It felt really heavy in her hands and she didn’t think she liked it.</p><p>“Leon, I don’t-.”</p><p>“I know you’re scared, but you have to trust me on this. You’ll be safer with this gun,” he stopped her, his eyes gazing into hers gently. “I <em> need </em>you to be safe, so please.” She swallowed the lump in her throat before slowly taking the gun, his hands retreating back to himself.</p><p>“We can go to the safe room and I’ll teach you how to use it. So just, hang it like this around yourself,” he said, hanging the shoulder strap connected to each side of the gun over her left shoulder. She could feel the gun lying across her back, the nozzle was near her right hip while the back end was near her left shoulder. “Let’s get to that room where we know it’s safe.” On the way out, they grabbed more shotgun ammo that they had left in a locker since they now had the weapon for it.</p><p>They quickly made it to the safe room, but Veronica was still unsure about the new weapon. It felt weird having it on her back like this. Once inside, Leon placed his own gun into its holster and turned to his partner who looked nervous as hell. He felt kind of guilty giving her such a big gun, but he knew she would be better off with it. She would’ve needed to use a gun eventually and this was just the only option they had between Matilda and the shotgun. The close encounter in the library only proved it to him.</p><p>“Ok. Let me show you how to use this thing. First, you’re gonna wanna grab it by the nozzle on your right to slide the gun into your hands from your back,” he explained, watching her do the actions as he said them. </p><p>“Once it’s in both of your hands, lift up so that the strap isn’t around you anymore. You won’t be able to aim or shoot properly until it’s off. Make sure to always shoot with two hands. I shouldn’t have to explain this, but this gun is big and the power behind it is unpredictable with just one hand, so always shoot with two. Real quick, practice just taking it on and off, so that when the time comes, you’ll know what to do.”</p><p>She did so about three times. The first try was too slow, the second was clumsily fast, and the third actually worked out well. He reached out and moved her hands to more appropriate spots on the gun as she held it. The small touches of his hand were gentle and the girl couldn’t help but suddenly feel a little nervous as he drew closer. Her heart began beating a little fast and it wasn’t just because she was holding a gun. </p><p>“Can I just hold it?” she inquired so that she didn’t have to hang it on her body.</p><p>“Yes, but make sure your finger is away from the trigger at all times until you know your about to shoot. We don’t want to cause any accidents.” She nodded in understanding, placing her pointer finger away from the trigger. “Now, you aim it by putting the stock against your shoulder, like this,” he explained, stepping behind her and moving her arms with the gun into the proper position. </p><p>His breath lightly brushed against her ear and suddenly, she was very aware of his body heat against hers. She swallowed trying to focus on her arms but was finding it very hard to do so. His hands move to press the stock against a better spot on her shoulder and on her elbow to fix the angle. Why she was suddenly so focused on this, she didn’t know. <em> This is so not the time for this! </em> His voice behind her suddenly awoke her from her thoughts.</p><p>“Veronica? You ok?” he asked, her head turning to look at him. She didn’t realize she got caught up in her thoughts. Heat was already filling her cheeks in slight embarrassment. </p><p>“Yeah, yeah! I’m fine!” she cleared her throat, looking back at the gun in her arms.</p><p>“You still nervous?” She glanced at him again and inhaled deeply.</p><p>“A little,” she confessed, but whether it was about the gun or about the young officer, he didn’t have to know.</p><p>“It’s ok. It’s always scary the first time. You wanna know a secret?” She nodded. “As long as you don’t tell a soul.” Once again, she nodded. “When I first shot a gun, I cried.” The girl’s eyes widened in surprise.</p><p>“You did?” She carefully relaxed her arms as he smiled reassuringly.</p><p>“I did. I went shooting with my dad for the first time when I was 15. I had already made up my mind that I wanted to be a police officer, so to prepare me for it, my dad took me to a shooting range. They gave me a handgun and taught me how to do it. I really thought it was going to be fine since the movies made it look super easy, but I took one shot at the target and the recoil caught me off guard. It was more powerful than I thought and that power scared me. So I started to cry.”</p><p>“How did you get over it?”</p><p>“My dad helped me and pushed me to keep trying. After a few more practice shots, I felt a little better, but knowing my dad had my back and wanted me to achieve my dream of being a police officer, I pushed through,” he spoke fondly before pausing for a moment. Then he placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently for reassurance. </p><p>“It’ll be scary for the first few times. The recoil on a shotgun is way more powerful than a handgun, but I know you can do it. If you can make it through a zombie-infested city all by yourself, you can shoot this gun. Plus, I’ll have your back! As my partner, I want you to be safe,” he assured, as he held up a fist to her. Veronica couldn’t help the grin on her face as she met his fist with her own. His encouraging nature gave her a small boost in confidence, and it made her want to try.</p><p>“Thank you, Leon. I feel a little better, but I'm still a little nervous.” Leon thought for a moment then an idea came to mind. </p><p>“Come with me!” He led them back outside and stood in front of the boarded window at the base of the stairs. The zombie that had tried to get in was still there clawing at the wood, but could still be seen through the slits of the boards.</p><p>“I want you to shoot it,” he stated.</p><p>“What?!” Her face showed the nervousness she was feeling as soon as he said that.</p><p>“This can be a practice shot for you. It’ll be easy ‘cause he’s in one spot. Easy to aim at and we’re not in any real danger.” Veronica’s hands tightened around the weapon as she bit her lip, contemplating. “I’ll be right here by your side. Ok?” She glanced between him and the zombie before nodding.</p><p>“Ok.” She stood in front of the window and tried getting into position. “Like this?”</p><p>“Yes. Lower your right elbow a little...there! The gun is already cocked, so you don’t have to do it till you have to shoot again. So just aim,” she raised the barrel at the head growling at her, “breath in,” she inhaled. “Now shoot!” Her finger pressed down on the trigger, the recoil catching her by surprise as it shocked through her shoulder. A shot rang out in the air and the zombie’s head was nothing more than brain matter.</p><p>She pulled back, body slightly trembling at the feeling. Her finger pulled away from the trigger out of reflex as she lowered the gun. Leon peered out of the window to assess the damage then looked back at her with a big smile. He took a step closer and reached a hand up to brush a lone tear away from her cheek that she didn’t even realize was there. </p><p>“You did it! I knew you could. I’m proud of you!” He rubbed a hand gently on her shoulder blade. “The shakes will wear off after a few minutes, but now you know how to shoot and what it feels like. Are you ok?” Veronica swallowed the lump in her throat before letting out a shallow breath.</p><p>“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. The recoil scared me when it hit, but I did it!” she said with a small smile on her face. “Thank you, partner.” She held up a fist and he reciprocated the fist bump happily. He quickly showed her how to reload as they walked back into the safe room to gather themselves. </p><p>With the gunpowder they had found, they put together more shotgun bullets and organized their pouches. Space was getting a little low, so they decided to search the second floor before going up to the third for the medallion. This meant that they would leave the detonator in the safe room for the time being.</p><p>Since there was no room for the pole Veronica used as a weapon, she set it on the desk in case of emergencies. She still had the hammer with her as well as knives in case she ran out of ammo. They also left the bolt cutters there since they haven’t seen any new chained doors, but if they did find one, they knew where it was. With a new weapon in their midst, they began their journey up to the second floor. She decided to keep it hung on her back until they reached the new area. </p><p>Walking into the familiar locker room, Veronica went to turn off the steam with the valve, while Leon opened the locker with the new code they had found. Inside was more ammo for the new gun and there was still the other box that was left in the other locker. To say she was stocked up was an understatement.</p><p>“Man, maybe I should’ve taken the shotgun instead,” Leon joked, watching his partner turn the valve. The steam stopped blowing, opening the path forward. </p><p>“Too late!” she teased as they looked in. It was the shower room, with stalls lining one side of the room while sinks lined the other. One of the stalls had been left on, water flooding both the bathroom and down the drain. On the other side of the room, the wall had a giant hole similar to the one on the third floor, like something had busted through it. Whatever it was, it was something they had to make sure to avoid. </p><p>Walking through it, they found themselves in what was probably the female’s shower and locker room. As they entered the locker portion, they saw a man sitting on one of the benches hunched over. Carefully, they walked past it, but only for it to fall forward, crumpling onto the ground. It spooked them causing them to jump back in preparation for it getting up. They waited a moment, but it never did. In one of the lockers, they were lucky to find a canister of gunpowder, but nothing else. </p><p>Now, this was going to be new territory, so the two of them took out their weapons and slowly walked in. It was a dark hallway, lit only by the light above the door they stood under and a light lying on the ground somewhere down the hall. There was a broken window blowing in the cold night air and the downpour of rain, drenching the floorboards. Shining a flashlight, they noticed on a couch nearby was some more shotgun ammo, but considering how loaded Veronica currently was, they left it there for later.</p><p>There were a couple of dead bodies lying around and blood was splattered everywhere, but no walking zombies that they could currently see. Treading forward a couple of steps into the hallway, they could hear a clicking sound coming from the way they were heading, putting them on edge. Suddenly, they were stopped dead in their tracks as something screeched loudly before something long and slimy shot down from the ceiling to the floor maybe 20 feet away. </p><p>Shining a flashlight up, they watched in horror as a terrifying creature that had stabbed a body with its incredibly long tongue then snapped it up to it. It was clung to the ceiling with giant sharp claws, it’s muscles exposed as if it was a human body with no skin. Whatever it was sank its razor-sharp teeth into the body and began digging through hungrily, blood splattering all over the place. Once it was done with it, it dropped the body back onto the floor with a sickening thud and licked its chops as if it had a delicious meal.</p><p>“What in God’s name…?” Leon whispered in horror at the sight. He jumped a little when a small hand quickly shot up to cover his mouth, effectively shushing him. As if it heard him, the creature began to crawl along the ceiling towards them, tilting its head and trying to listen for noises. Their lights didn’t seem to attract it, so perhaps it was blind. From what they could see from far away, there were no eyes, just an exposed brain, and teeth.</p><p>Veronica dropped her hand from Leon’s mouth and used it to grab onto the back of his bulletproof vest, pulling him backward alongside her without talking. Keeping their eyes on the monster, they slowly backed away to the door that they came from, Veronica opening it as quietly as possible. They quietly slipped back inside the locker room just in time for whatever it was to drop onto the floor. </p><p>They could still hear whatever it was clicking and screeching on the other side of the door. It’s large claws scraping along the wood floor as it crawled around. They waited, frozen in their spots till the sounds dimmed.</p><p>“What the fuck was that thing?!” Veronica hissed, terrified to talk any louder.</p><p>“I don’t know! But whatever it was, it looked like it didn’t have any skin! It was all just muscle and I think it only had a brain for a head!”</p><p>“Why does it not have any...Wait, didn’t we read something about that?” Leon remembered what she was talking about and dug into one of his pockets, producing the folded up note. </p><p>“‘Keep your eyes peeled for those creepy fucks that look like they were skinned alive- ‘lickers’. They’re blind as bats, but their hearing more than makes up for that. Make like my grandma and creep around as slow as possible around ‘em,” he read, skimming over the unimportant parts. </p><p>“That’s a licker?!”</p><p>“It would make sense if that was the tongue. It must be sharp like those claws it has.”</p><p>“So, as long as we walk slowly, we should be fine, right?”</p><p>“I hope so. Maybe the brain could be a weak point, but I say we use it’s blindness to our advantage.”</p><p>“That thing was made to kill! Those claws. We’re dead if it catches us,” she paused as she thought up some sort of plan. "I noticed there was a door just past it. We should take this slowly and just get to that room first. I think once there’s a door in the way and then we blockade it, we should be fine. Then we’ll do the same when we leave to pass through.”</p><p>“We need to be as quiet as possible. This isn’t some regular zombie. Stay close, keep your eyes on it, and your gun out,” Leon commanded before reaching for the doorknob. Swallowing nervously, Veronica quickly cocked her gun and watched him crack the door open. He peeked through the small opening and pulled back, pointing to the area right next to the door. <em> Of course, it’s right there!  </em></p><p>He slowly opened the door, glad to have the rain making enough noise to cover any sound it made. He walked out, taking it one step at a time, then allowed Veronica to pass him so that he could shut the door. They didn’t need this thing to leave this hallway to get to their safer territory. They watched with bated breath as he closed it as silently as possible. The only sound he made was of a small click as the knob was put back into base position. To their luck, the thing didn’t seem to hear it as it was seemingly preoccupied with a soda can that was sitting on a table next to a vending machine.</p><p>With each passing step, Veronica could hear the blood rushing in her ears and it was getting harder to breathe since all she could take were shallow breaths. Sweat began to drip down her temple as they walked by it, making it ever so closer to their destination. Time felt like it was passing by slowly, feeling like an hour had passed with how slow they were going. She could see the door with a plaque next to it reading ‘S.T.A.R.S. office, but she couldn’t get too excited. They had reached the broken window when a floorboard beneath Leon’s boot creaked loudly. </p><p>The licker’s head shot up and looked over in their direction with a loud hiss then began stalking towards them. Adrenaline coursed through their veins as they tried to speed up their steps, but it only seemed to pick up on them even more. They were so close, just a few more feet. The beast suddenly jumped up to the ceiling and sat there listening. Leon took one more step back and the board beneath him creaked even more loudly, revealing his location.</p><p>The licker screeched at finding its target then pounced down at him. Instead of a licker’s embrace, however, Leon was suddenly shoved back in time as Veronica tackled him out of the way. His back hit the floor as a pained scream reached his ears, but it wasn't his own. He watched as the licker’s claws barely missed him as it flew over past, sliding down the hallway, but the scream was what caught his attention. Peering down at his feet, Veronica was lying face down on the floor, her face contorted with pain and the back of his windbreaker was torn.</p><p><em> Oh shit! I need to get her out of here! </em>Leon turned his body to see the licker beginning to stalk them, so without a second thought, he grabbed the fallen shotgun and aimed. He shot two rounds at it before it got close enough for the third shot to finish the job. The beast fell with a final hiss against the floor near him. This meant the thing wasn't invincible, but it was still tougher than any zombie. The hallway was once again quiet, save for Veronica’s pained gasps.</p><p>The young officer quickly got onto his feet and hung the gun over his shoulder before kneeling at his partner’s side. Looking at her back, he could already see that the cut made it through his jacket. He reached under her, as gently as he possibly could, to turn her, then hooked his arms under her back and thighs to carry her. She whimpered, her eyes shut tightly while raising an arm to wrap around his neck as he stood up.</p><p>“I got you, Vee. Just hold on!” he assured her before running to the S.T.A.R.S. office. It was hard to open the door with her in his arms, but Veronica chose to hold on tightly to allow him to use his hand. The pressure of using her body to keep her up shot white-hot pain through her, but she fought through it so that they could make it to a safer place. He ran in, kicking the door shut behind him before looking around the room. He was relieved to find it empty and well lit then glanced into the S.T.A.R.S. leader’s office. There sat a wide desk, just right enough to put her on. In a flash, he set her on the desk and swiped everything that was on it onto the ground.</p><p>He carefully laid her down, keeping her turned onto her side then began digging through his pouch for all of the medical supplies he had. After placing them on the table, he took off his gloves and rolled up his sleeves.</p><p>“I have to look at your back. I’m gonna need to take off the jacket and lift up your shirt ok?” he told her, getting a small nod in return. She helped bend her arm so that he could pull the jacket away just on that side as well her elbow pads, her breathing was heavy as she dealt with the pain. Leon turned her body gently so that she was slightly lying on her stomach then lifted the bottom of her shirts to get a better look at the wound. </p><p>Etched across the middle of her back was a set of three long scratches, blood pooling at the edges and dripping down her irritated skin. He needed something to clean it up. He told her not to move before jogging out into the office. Looking around, he noticed a first aid bag hanging on the wall near a desk. He quickly picked it up and dug through, finding proper medical supplies then ran back to his injured friend who looked like she was about to pass out.</p><p>“Stay with me, Vee! Stay with me!” he urged, pulling out a clean cloth from the bag. He pressed it against the scratches causing Veronica to gasp in pain. Her hand was clutched around the edge of the table, knuckles turning white at how tightly she was holding on to it. Mopping the blood out of the way, he inspected the slashes and to his relief, they weren’t too deep. She must’ve just grazed by with a fraction of a second. If she stood there any longer than she did, it would’ve probably meant death, or at least really deep cuts.</p><p>He pressed the towel harder against the wounds to try and stop the bleeding, causing her to cry out more with tears running down her face. He whispered apologies as he waited for the blood to dry, a slightly bloody hand reaching over to pet her head soothingly. Once he began to calm down, he began putting his thoughts back together to process what had just happened. </p><p>She saved him. She thought quickly and pushed him out of the way, only to get herself hurt in the process. So much for having the bigger gun to protect herself with it. He began to feel guilty as he pulled the cloth away, knowing that he couldn’t stop her from getting hurt. He should have been more careful-.</p><p>“Leon,” her voice croaked, pulling him from his thoughts. He sat down in the office chair so that his face was at level with hers.</p><p>“Hey. How are you holding up?” he asked softly, his eyes studying her face. The sweat on her forehead caused her hair to stick to her skin, so he lightly dragged it away and pushed it behind her ear. Her eyes were red and there were tears that were still wet sliding down her cheeks. She looked a little pale, but it might’ve been more so from the pain rather than blood loss.</p><p>“It hurts.”</p><p>“I know, but the good news is, that they’re not deep. They’re very shallow, so they’ll heal up in no time. You got really lucky, Vee. It could’ve been so much worse,” he said while reaching for a roll of gauze and the medical spray that he found in the first aid kit bag. They could save their other healing items for later. He uncapped the spray bottle and read the instructions on it. Seemed like it would do the job.</p><p>“Leon...can you hold my hand, please?” she wavered, holding out the hand she was gripping the desk with, knowing it was going to really hurt. He didn’t hesitate in taking it into his own and giving it a small squeeze.</p><p>“This isn’t gonna feel too great. Just squeeze my hand as hard as you can. Get ready,” he said standing up, keeping his grasp firm. Aiming the bottle, he began spraying, covering the injury in a strong jet of antibacterial mist. Veronica yelped in pain and squeezed Leon’s hand tightly. It felt like hand sanitizer getting into a papercut, but times 5.</p><p>“Fuck!” she cursed, gasping for air. For good measure, he sprayed around that area of her back, emptying the bottle of its contents. He set it to the side then reached for the gauze before sitting back down. Her eyes gazed up at his face watching him find a random napkin in a desk drawer to wipe the blood off of his hands. </p><p>“We’re going to let that sit on there for a couple of minutes before we bandage you up.” He paused before looking back at her. “God, I’m so sorry!” The injured girl took a second to swallow the spit in her mouth before replying. </p><p>“Why are you apologizing? I’m the one that got hurt. I should be the sorry one for not being careful,” she retorted. He leaned in a little closer, his eyes gentle and sad.</p><p>“You saved my life. If it wasn’t for you I would be torn to shreds by now.”</p><p>“That still doesn’t mean you should apologize.”  </p><p>“But I’m supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around. It’s my job, remember? Instead, you just got hurt because of me.” She untangled her fingers from his hand then reached up to caress his face.</p><p>“Leon, you’re my partner, my friend. We have each other’s backs!”</p><p>“But-!”<br/>“I’m alive, aren’t I? I know you’ll always have mine, but you gotta remember that I have yours, too. We’re in this together, rookie,” she smiled weakly. He couldn’t help but lean into her touch with a small smile of his own.</p><p>“I like the way that, that sounds when you say it.”</p><p>“Then I guess I’ll keep calling you that then,” she giggled, wincing a little at the movement. “You called me something earlier too, didn’t you? What was it?” Leon sighed as her hand dropped from his face to grip his own again.</p><p>“I called you Vee. Short for Veronica. I know it’s not really creative, but I like how it sounds. I was gonna ask if it was ok to call you that, but it kinda just slipped out when I was panicking.” She squeezed his hand and nodded her head the best she could against the desk.</p><p>“It’s more than ok! I like it. Short and simple. But I think I’m gonna have to stick with ‘rookie’ for you though. Your name’s already short to begin with and I’m not about to come up with something funky right at this moment.” He chuckles softly at that, his eyes crinkling happily at the edges as he smiled fondly at her.</p><p>“I’ll take it….Thank you, Vee.” She mirrored the smile and squeezed his hand again.</p><p>“You’re welcome, rookie. I would hug you, but I kinda can’t right now.”</p><p>“Will this do?” he asked before leaning in and pressing his lips to her exposed forehead to kiss softly. He pulled away, nervous that he might have crossed some line, but he was met with a blushing face and a shy smile.</p><p>“That’ll do just nicely,” she whispered, squeezing his hand once more. He was a bold one, that was for sure, but she didn’t seem to mind it. He took a look at her back then stood up.</p><p>“How are you feeling?”</p><p>“Really sore. Still hurts a lot. Are there any pain pills in that pouch?” Leon dug in and found a small plastic vial filled with them. He put a couple in her hand and put the vial back in his pouch for later.</p><p>“Let’s get you up so I can bandage you properly,” he said while grabbing her arm. Using her other arm, she shakily pushed up from the desk and, with Leon’s help, she was sitting up with her legs hanging over the desk in no time. She popped the pills she was given dryly since there was no water around to drink and looked down at the mess on the floor.</p><p>“Jesus. I hope no one planned on using this desk anytime soon,” she said sarcastically as Leon got the rest of the medical supplies ready.</p><p>“I think it’s safe to say, they won’t be,” he replied while placing two large pieces of gauze over the first slash. “I’m gonna start pressing down and wrapping,” he warned before doing so. She hissed between her teeth but fought through the pain. Standing in front of her as he did his job, he reached over and went to wrap around, but found her shirts to be in the way.</p><p>“I’m sorry, but you’re gonna have to lift your shirt a little higher,” he requested. Careful as to not move too fast, she pulled her shirt up all the way to her chest and hooked them under her armpits, making sure that it wasn't going to fall. She didn't want to constantly hold or fix it since it hurt to lift her arms. Looking back up, she was surprised to find a red-faced Leon who was trying very hard to look anywhere but her. </p><p>“Leon, are you ok?”</p><p>“Um...you’re bra...it’s uh…,” he couldn’t seem to finish the sentence as he tried focusing on the wrapping. She looked down and realized she had exposed her blue bra to him and felt both slightly embarrassed, but also annoyed.</p><p>“Leon, it’s just a bra. I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of other girls wear one,” she huffed, trying to reason with him. He was quiet for a moment as he reached around her one last time before grabbing more gauze pads for the next scratch.</p><p>“Actually, I’ve only had one other girlfriend,” he murmured, feeling a little embarrassed. Veronica was taken aback by that.</p><p>“You’ve only had one girlfri- agh!” she yelped as he pressed against the new cut.</p><p>“Sorry. Yeah.” He seemed to contemplate his next words carefully. "And I haven't had one since then." This seemed to surprise her even more, but on the inside, she couldn't help but feel a little happy to hear that. </p><p>“How come? I would’ve thought you had a line out the door of people waiting to get a chance at even holding your hand!” He chuckled at that, face still red. It was kind of adorable.</p><p>“What makes you say that?” She opened her mouth to answer but closed it right away, face turning a little pink. She was not about to say her thoughts out loud. He seemed pleased by this and continued his answer.</p><p>“I wanted to focus on becoming a police officer first. It takes lots of training and studying, which also means my time. Sure, I’ve dated in high school, but those weren't real relationships. They always lasted like a month. Even then, I was too shy to do anything more than make out with them,” he explained. He felt tired from constantly moving to each side of her to wrap, so he decided to make things easier for himself. He got really close and stood in between her legs, then leaned down. </p><p>"Sorry, this will be easier for me to do this."</p><p>Once he was situated, he looped both of his arms under hers and peered his head over her shoulder so he could see what he was doing. It made the wrapping easier if he stuck to one spot, but Veronica was now suddenly very aware of where he was standing. <em> Fuck it! </em> she thought as she leaned her forehead against his shoulder. His warmth was nice and it was close enough to a hug that she enjoyed it. This was also gonna be perfect fantasy fuel for later.</p><p>“Fair enough,” she responded. “So wait, how old are you then? You don’t look that much older than I am and you’re already in the police force!”</p><p>“21. I worked my ass off to get in and got really high marks that scored me the opportunity of being an officer earlier than a lot of others.”</p><p>“Dude, I’m 22 and I barely got out of college! You’re only a year younger than me! What the fuck!” He chuckled, grabbing more pieces of gauze for the last cut.</p><p>“I told you! I worked really hard. Frankly, that’s why that relationship I had didn’t last that long. I was so devoted to getting my dream career that my girlfriend at the time got tired of it. Not that I blame her. It was rough what I put her through.”</p><p>“I’m sorry.”</p><p>“Don’t be. Those wounds healed ages ago. Speaking of which, just one more to go.” He began wrapping again when he suddenly felt her begin to sag against him. “Whoa, you ok over there?”</p><p>“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine. Just comfortable. Shoulder’s comfy enough to nap on.” She could feel his body laugh against her and it made her feel a little giddy inside.</p><p>“Well, instead of napping, why don’t you try and keep awake. Talk to me. Tell me about yourself. I feel like I’ve shared my whole life story with you.” She giggled against his shoulder.</p><p>“Where should I start?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Survivor bonding is always nice.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After some serious survivor bonding, the pair continue their journey with finding the other medallions needed in escaping the station. Only they may be the only one's making it out.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Got any family?”</p><p>“I do. I live with my parents back in Los Angeles. I also have a younger sister and two dogs. We were born and raised there.”</p><p>“Nice. What kind of dogs?”</p><p>“A black labrador named Cupcake and a small corgi named Sprinkles. While they constantly bark at nothing outside of the house, they’re both good girls. Do you have any pets or siblings?”</p><p>“I don’t have any siblings, but I do have a German shepherd named Benji. He is also a very good boy who barks at nothing,” he laughed. “What’s your sister’s name?”</p><p>“Lily. She’s 13 and she’s my best friend. She's the one thing that’s keeping me going in this hell,” she whispered, suddenly feeling a little homesick. Leon could hear her sniffle against his shoulder and pulled back to see her tearing up.</p><p>“What’s wrong?”</p><p>“It’s just...She’s very important to me, Leon. I have to see her again. I can’t die here!” His heart broke at the girl’s desperation to live and see her family. He felt the same about his own family, but he had to stay strong, just like she had told him earlier.</p><p>“And you won’t. I promise you I will get you out of this city and you <em> will </em>see her again.” The young girl smiled with watery eyes and leaned back in to lay her head against him with a sigh.</p><p>“Thank you, Leon. Maybe you’ll get to meet her one day.” He got back into his work as she said this.</p><p>“I hope that I do. After all this survivor bonding we’re going through, it would be a shame to never see you again.” She giggled softly.</p><p>“It would be a shame.”</p><p>“I’m almost done. Tell me more. What are you into? Hobbies, movies, etc?”</p><p>“I used to love scary movies, but after this, I don’t think that’ll be the case anymore.”</p><p>“Yeah, I don’t think so either.”</p><p>“Mystery movies are still great though. I love to try and figure out who did it before the end. My mom and I would spend our Sundays together having a small tea party in our pjs while we marathon them. Just like you, I also love a good mystery! I also love music. Any kind, anytime, any situation. You’ll probably catch me singing, eventually. That and drawing.”</p><p>“That sounds like a nice time. I didn’t realize I was friends with a multi-talented artist!” he smiled excitedly, receiving a shake of her head against him.</p><p>“I’m barely an artist. I just like to do it for fun.” He paused and pulled back to look her.</p><p>“If you love to do it, then you are one! Give yourself some credit,” he said, his words full of encouragement. It made her feel good inside. Then he leaned back in and continued his work. “I bet you also sound great singing! Maybe I’ll hear it one day.”</p><p>“Maybe,” she smiled against his shoulder. He paused as he thought carefully for a moment before asking his next question.</p><p>"Got anyone special in your life? A boyfriend waiting for you back in L.A. maybe?" She rubbed her head more into his shoulder, moreso to kind of hide her face. She didn't think he was going to ask her that, so it surprised her. It kind of gave her hope for something if they made it out of this alive.</p><p>"Nope. I'm a single pringle! I haven't been on a proper date in a long time." She felt him turn his head a little towards her.</p><p>"That's too bad."</p><p>"Why do you say that?"</p><p>"'Cause you're a great gal! I would've figured you were already dating somebody." She blushed, hoping that he couldn't feel her heart pounding in her chest at that.</p><p>"That's very sweet of you to say. It's interesting that you would think that, but no. I'm not with anyone right now." He seemed to pause at her response for a moment before working again.</p><p>“Well, you'll find that special someone eventually," he said softly, voice reverberating in his chest against her. He cleared his throat and adjusted a few bandages. "We can finish this conversation later. I think that about does it,” he told her, pulling back and tying a knot on her side. He quickly pulled her shirts back down to cover herself, much to his relief. “It’s gonna hurt for a while, so you’re gonna have to take it easy for a little bit.”</p><p>“I’ll just look around and point things out to you for now, yeah?”</p><p>“Sure, but tell me if something feels wrong, so I can fix it.” She nodded and, with Leon’s help, hopped off of the desk. The young man found some wet wipes in the kit and cleaned off his hands, as well as his partners from the blood. He put his supplies away then fixed up his sleeves and gloves to how they were before checking his inventory. While he did that, Veronica took the windbreaker from the desk to hold it up for the both of them to see.</p><p>“Sorry about your jacket,” she apologized, revealing the three long gashes that tore through the fabric like butter. Her own shirts didn’t fare much better, but the jacket took the brunt of it. She could feel the blood drying against the skin of her back.</p><p>“That’s ok. I don’t think I plan to wear it much when we get out anyways. We can try and tape the inside for now, so you can still use it. Any protection is better than none,” he said, taking it from her. He found some duct tape in a drawer and taped the inside together quickly. As he did that, his partner took a look at the floor to find anything that could be useful. </p><p>She was about to leave the room unsatisfied with her search when something caught her eye. It was yellow and hidden under a piece of paper that got knocked over it. She kicked it out of hiding and found it to be a battery. Just like they needed for the detonator. </p><p>“Leon, look! I found a battery!” He walked over the mess then crouched down to pick it up. “Will it work for the bomb?”</p><p>“I think so! Good eye! I also found a letter sitting over here. It has the code to the safe down in the west office. I’ll have to check it later.” As he put it in a pocket, Veronica glanced around then up at the wall, curious about the mural.</p><p>“So, what is S.T.A.R.S?” she asked, nodding her head up to the wall. He followed her gaze, realizing what it was.</p><p>“They’re the Special Tactics And Rescue Service. They’re a special forces division that deal with anti-terroism within the city...I think. I heard about them when I was applying into coming here. They were a big deal, but they fell apart.” He lifted the now semi-fixed jacket up for her to slip her arms through then handed her, her elbow pads. </p><p>“What happened?”</p><p>“I've only heard a bunch of rumors, but apparently most of the members died in some great explosion up in the mountains. I think only like four or five of them survived out of like 12.”</p><p>“Jesus.”</p><p>“Yeah. I think they were also investigating those cannibal attacks….Which now that I think about it, it makes even more sense if the rumors are true. It’s possible that they had seen all of this while up there and the explosion was to get rid of them,” he theorized with his arms crossed in frustration at the idea. It all made sense to her.</p><p>“Shit! It sure does! If it’s all true then whoever did this is one huge asshole!”</p><p>“Tell me about it,” he sighed and looked over the room. “This was their office, I guess.” </p><p>"You think any of them survived this outbreak?"</p><p>"Honestly, I'm not sure. I haven't heard of what happened to them when they came back. Maybe they were lucky and left town. I know I would."</p><p>They walked out of the small room and out into the open. There were desks sitting neatly against the wall, but everything looked cluttered. It seemed like they were just packing up, then decided to go on a lunch break with how normal it looked compared to the rest of the station. Looking around, they found more supplies on the desks: another flash grenade, more gunpowder, and a red herb. Since Veronica couldn’t do much, she wrote down in the little book of their findings. Since they didn’t have the second-floor map, she couldn’t update any other maps.</p><p>While she did this, Leon checked a computer that sat in front of a barred off section of the room. Through the gaps, he could see another gun and informed her of it. After he tried hacking into the computer, he walked back to her with a shake of his head. </p><p>“Needs authentication. Maybe something needs to be plugged in,” he told her. She wrote it down as a little note, then gave Leon the book. The pair decided that they’ve checked the room enough for the moment and walked out of the office carefully. On the ground, the licker’s corpse was still there, having not moved, but they crept by it all the same.</p><p>They quietly made their way down the hall with Veronica hobbling a little in mild pain, but she pushed through to keep going. They were still cautious of anything that could possibly be there. To their relief, they found it was empty after rounding the corner. <em> Thank god </em>. They were not in the mood for dealing with another one of those things. There were only two doors at that end, both locked. One door had a pink diamond emblem on it and the other was a plain door that had a deadbolt on their side. Unlocking it, they were met with a giant bronze statue of a unicorn sitting against a balcony railing to a small room. </p><p>In the shield that the unicorn posed upon, was a small medallion with a unicorn carving on it. At its base was a stone box with 3 dials each with carved symbols on it. Taking out the book in a flash, Leon took a look at the clues before looking back up.</p><p>“This is one of the statues! We can get this medallion.” Veronica watched as he turned the dials to the correct code. Two fish shaped like the Pisces sign, a scorpion, and a water jug. With the sound of stone grinding, the medallion was released from the statue. Leon reached up to grab it and held it in his hand. </p><p>“That’s one!” the girl exclaimed.</p><p>“We’re getting close and we know where the other two are!” </p><p>“Right,” she said while walking over to the balcony’s railing just past the statue. Peering over curiously, she realized they were above the reception room. “Speaking of knowing where things are, where are we?”</p><p>“I’ll tell you!” She turned her head to see Leon picking up what looked like to be parts of the map from a table. “It’s the map to the upper floors. We have the full set! </p><p>“Yes! That’ll be super helpful!” She pulled out her map, unfolded it and added it to the others. According to the map, they were on the second-floor lounge right next to the library. Great! Just where they needed to be!</p><p>“Also found some gunpowder. Let’s get back to the main hall and pop this bad boy in!”</p><p>They quickly made their way through the library toward the main hall, but before they could reach the stairs, something caught Leon’s eye. He jogged the opposite way from the door, towards a dead end and to his luck, found some more bullets. </p><p>“Nice! Now, let’s get the lion medallion while we’re up here.” They got to the lion statue and quickly inputted the code, which was a lion, a plant, and a bird. Just like the unicorn statue, the medallion was released and Leon handed it to Veronica. With a bit of a painful struggle for the young girl, they made it down the stairs to the base of the goddess statue.</p><p>Looking at the book, she placed the lion disc in the last spot of the three holes. To their surprise, the bottom half of the base to the statue began moving where it slid down into the ground with a low rumble. Bars lowered down in the plaques place, revealing some sort of entryway between the cracks.</p><p>“So Elliot was right,” Marvin mumbled from behind them, causing them to turn in surprise. He was still lying down, but his head was tilted up watching them. They thought he was still asleep when they got there, but he must have heard the noise and woke up.</p><p>“Yeah, but the passage isn’t open yet,” the young officer pointed out.</p><p>“Just two more to go,” his partner stated beside him. Marvin nodded his head once before falling back against the bench and was out cold. The pair looked at each other worriedly before placing the unicorn medallion in its place. The upper part of the base slid back against the rear part of the statue. They just had to get the last one.</p><p>“Ok. Let’s move,” Veronica said, about to walk towards the stairs but was stopped by Leon’s hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“Actually, Vee, I need you to stay here,” he instructed. She blinked up at him confused at his request. </p><p>“What?!”</p><p>“You’re really hurt! You need to rest for a little bit. I don’t want you overexerting yourself.”</p><p>“But you can’t go alone, it’s not safe!”</p><p>“Look, I just have to cut through the west office to get to the safe room and grab the detonator. From there, it’s one shot up to the statue. I think we cleared that pathway, so I’ll be fine. I need you to rest while I’m gone. It’ll be quick, I promise.” She sighed, knowing that she won’t be able to change his mind, not with a back like hers.</p><p>“Ok. But you get back here as soon as you can, ok, rookie?”</p><p>“I will. I’m going to leave the shotgun with you for now, for your own safety. Just try not to use it, if possible.</p><p>“Ok. Please hurry.” He nodded at her before running towards the spade door and disappearing into the west office. Besides Marvin’s breathing, the room suddenly felt so quiet. Deciding to follow his idea, she laid down on the opposite bench, but on her stomach to keep the pressure off her back. </p><p>After about a few minutes of lying there, she felt her eyelids beginning to droop. She was really tired and she was still in pain, despite that the pain meds that were slowly kicking in. Sleeping sounded so good right now. She couldn’t help but close her eyes, just for a few minutes.</p><p>“Veronica!” She gasped and quickly sat up, a small stab of pain rippling through her back.</p><p>“Ow!”</p><p>“Take it easy! It’s just me,” Leon assured her. He had returned with the medallion in hand. “You were out like a light.” She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.</p><p>“Sorry. I guess I was tired. How long were you gone?”</p><p>“Longer than I thought. A licker and a zombie cornered me after the explosion.”</p><p>“Oh my god! Leon, are you ok?”</p><p>“I’m fine! I’m a lot quicker than I look. I had to take the long way around rather than through the library. The explosion blocked the door that way.”</p><p>“Geez, this is why I wanted to go with you!”</p><p>“I know, but I think you would’ve gotten more hurt if you did. Besides, you looked like you needed the rest.” She huffed then flicked him against the forehead with her finger. “Ow!”</p><p>“Dumby. Let’s get this thing going,” she said while slowly getting up. He put the medallion in its slot and stood back. The whole front part of the base, including the medallions, slid down into the ground creating a small staircase down to a white iron door. “Holy shit!”</p><p>Leon walked down it and, with a hard shove, opened the door. He flashed his light down inside where it looked dark and smelled like it hadn't been used for a long time. This was the way out.</p><p>“So, it goes underground...Huh,” he mumbled to himself. “That’s it - That’s our way out,” he nodded to his partner. Then he turned and began making his way to Marvin’s sleeping form. “Lieutenant Branagh! Marvin!” The injured officer hissed silently in his sleep. “It’s time to go.”</p><p>“Wait, Leon!” He kneeled at the benches side and patted Marvin’s shoulder to wake him.</p><p>“Hey, Marvin…” He shook him a little, only to have Marvin growl at him, quickly sitting up. The younger couple was taken aback by the feral reaction. It was getting worse. Marvin gasped for breath, stopping himself from hurting Leon and turned away. He still had some humanity left in him.</p><p>“We need to get you to a hospital right now,” Leon urged. Marvin blinked confused for a moment, but pulled away.</p><p>No, no...I, uh,” the injured man tried putting his thoughts together. He pressed on his injury, clearly showing that he was still in pain. “Save yourself…” Leon wouldn’t hear any of it and got onto his feet, reaching for the other.</p><p>“C’mon, I’ve got you-.” The older man just pulled away.</p><p>“GO!”</p><p>“Look, we can still make it out of here together, if you just gimme-,” he was interrupted with a gun pointed at him. Marvin wouldn’t shoot, they both knew that, but they didn’t risk it.</p><p>“It’s too late,” Marvin stated lowly. Veronica could only stand there, feeling her eyes well up with tears. This was Marvin’s end. She could tell Leon was about to argue with him and she couldn’t take it anymore.</p><p>“Leon...he’s been bit.” He turned towards her, shocked by her statement. “He probably won’t last much longer,” she choked out the last few words, tears spilling down. Leon’s face finally showed that he connected the dots and looked back at Marvin.</p><p>“I tried, Leon...But I couldn’t stop it.” The lieutenant began blinking back his own tears. He knew this was his fate and saying it out loud, made it real. “We can’t let this thing spread. It’s on you both now. Just go!” Leon took a step back.</p><p>“I understand,” was all he said before turning to walk away. It didn’t take a genius to see that he was trying not to get upset. Veronica walked up to Marvin as he inspected his bloody hand with pain in his eyes. She knelt down on the seat next to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He kept his bloody hands away but didn’t reject the hug.</p><p>“Thank you, Marvin. You did good,” she whispered before pulling away. Marvin let the tears spill onto his cheeks when their eyes met.</p><p>“You stay safe, California girl,” he spoke softly causing her to blubber loudly. “Leon, as my last order as your superior, take good care of yourselves, especially of Veronica here. Make sure that both of you make it out of this city alive and <em> not </em> infected.”</p><p>“You can count on me, sir.” Marvin looked at the both of them one last time.</p><p>“Go.”</p><p>The two sadly left the lieutenant behind where he sat and walked down the staircase to the next part of their journey. The entrance began to close up behind them and they turned in time to watch it shut completely, leaving them in darkness. </p><p>“We won’t let you down, Marvin,” the young officer affirmed full of sadness. Veronica reached up to squeeze his shoulder comfortingly, not feeling so hot herself. She could feel his gaze meeting hers in the darkness. He flicked on his flashlight to illuminate the space around them,  then sighed.</p><p>“You knew he was infected,” he whispered. She looked away guilty and nodded.</p><p>“He told me he was bit when I found him.” He tilted his head down trying to get her to look at him.</p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me?” She finally looked over to meet his eyes.</p><p>“I...I didn’t have the heart to. You were so sure that we could save him, that I wanted to believe that maybe it was possible. But he only got w-worse,” she suddenly broke out into a sob, her body trembling.</p><p>Leon wrapped his arms gently around her waist, avoiding her injury as much as possible and pulled her close. She gripped at his vest as she buried her face into his shoulder. So much had happened in the last couple of hours alone, it was no wonder why she broke down. Now they had just lost another survivor. It was only the two of them now until they could find Claire. That's <em> if </em>she's still alive.</p><p>“It’ll be ok, Vee. We’ll make it through this and keep that last promise to Marvin. Ok?” He felt a nod against his shoulder. “From now on, no more hiding things like that. We can’t afford to have secrets.” They both pulled away, Leon brushing away the tears on her face once it was in view. “C’mon. We have to keep going.” </p><p>“Yeah. Ok.” She looked back at the now closed opening. “Think we’ll come back?” He looked over at it then down the stairs.</p><p>“Who knows? It’s possible that this might not work.”</p><p>“Then let’s get a move on and find out.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Leon and Vee had found the medallions and were now escaping the RPD. But something awaits them in the bowls of the basement.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The pair of survivors carefully made their way down the small dark stairwell. Upon making it to the bottom, the lights to the small room flickered on automatically, bathing it in low, warm light. It was small, round, and looked like a study with wooden bookshelves as walls, and a desk. The floor was wooden boards with a giant picture of a compass in the middle. Nicknacks adorned a long dresser, including a model of what looked like the police station. It was quite impressive. Next to it was a box of shotgun ammo which Leon decided to take.</p><p>"Where are you gonna put that?" Veronica asked, still with a slight nasally tone from crying. Leon turned and revealed a new pouch on his other hip. </p><p>"I stopped by the west office safe on the way to getting the last medallion. Luckily for me, it was a new pouch. Since you're stocked on this ammo anyways, mind if I take this one in case I end up using the shotgun?"</p><p>"Oh! That's a good idea! Go for it!"</p><p>"Hopefully, we'll find another pouch for you. I know you're running out of space." She nodded in agreement as she walked over to the desk. </p><p>"What was this room used for? It's a weird place to put a study," she muttered.</p><p>"It was probably used when this place was a museum. I'm not sure if it has been used since then." The young officer searched the other way and found a mechanism that required a crank to turn it. Next to it on the wall, was a sign that showed stairs. </p><p>"Maybe we can get back this way. We would just need the crank to open it. If we find out that this doesn't work, that is," he suggested. Veronica hoped that wouldn't be anytime soon, but considering how much has happened against their wishes, it was very likely they would come back.</p><p>On the large wooden desk was another typewriter surrounded by piles of books. None of which looked to be of any help. There was also another big black box next to the desk against the wall. Considering that this was a police station, it would make sense as to why there were so many of them. Perhaps the room had been used recently. It was near a doorway, that led, to their surprise, to an elevator. Curiously, Veronica pushed the button and was even more surprised to see that it worked as the gate pulled back. The elevator seemed like it was safe. Where it would lead them to, they didn't know.</p><p>"Only one way to find out," Leon said, then gestured his arm out. "Ladies first." His partner snorted at that and walked in, him following behind her. </p><p>"Such a gentleman."</p><p>"I try," he joked as he pressed the button inside. The gates snapped closed and the car began moving downward. It took only a few seconds before it stopped at its destination. The gates snapped back open to a dark stairwell. The two survivors looked at each other then took out their weapons. </p><p>Leon walked out first, flashlight on and shining down the stairs. As soon as they were out of the car, the doors snapped closed behind them again with a loud <em> clang. </em> They slowly crept down the stairs, lighting down into the empty space of the room. Everything seemed to be safe, with no dead bodies lingering around. It was also pretty quiet, except for what sounded like hissing and the groaning of pipes. </p><p>They finally came upon an open doorway where the sounds were coming from. Walking in, they were surrounded by pipes and machinery, steam billowing into the air. Their shoes clanged beneath them against the metal walkway as they slowly made their way through. As they turned a corner, the sound of someone groaning in pain passed by overhead along with a giant shadow filtering through the floor. Whatever it was, it sounded like it was hurt and its voice was not entirely human.</p><p>“What the-!?” Leon said in a low voice, trying to not catch its attention. They stilled as they watched it turn a corner above them and disappeared, its groans becoming faint. Moving forward, they passed through a room with giant machinery on either side to a larger room at the end of it. </p><p>They stood on a metal catwalk above a giant room filled with even more steam and even more machines. The machines below them looked like they were what made the police station tick, like electricity and water. The sounds of hissing and the groaning of each part working filled the room.</p><p>The walkway would’ve diverged into two paths, but the left side was blocked off by a small blockade, while the other was only blocked by a lone fallen cabinet in what looked like an observation room above the machinery. Easy enough to move aside and it led the pathway forward. Once they got to it, Leon braced his hands on its side and began pulling it back. Veronica tried to help the best that she could by bracing her shoulder against it. With the two’s teamwork, they pushed it till it was standing upright. Leon began to walk into the room first while his partner took a moment to rest from subtle pains up her back.</p><p>All of a sudden, something large and deformed dropped in from the ceiling, landing in front of the rookie with a loud thud. The survivors backed away and watched in horror as a monstrous amalgamation of a creature stood up. Half of its body was human with the blonde head of a caucasian man sticking out on the human side, but the other half was a deformed monstrous thing composed of exposed muscles and giant bone growth. The clothes fitted around it were mostly bulging at the seams or were torn away entirely.</p><p>“What the-!?” </p><p>“Leon move!” his partner shouted as she backed away from them. But it was too late, the thing lunged forward and snatched the front of Leon’s vest, picking him up off the floor and running out of the room. He slammed the officer into the metal grate beneath them before rearing back as it’s mutated shoulder seemed to expand even more so painfully. A giant red eyeball opened in the new space it created and rolled around before setting its gaze on Leon.</p><p>“Oh my god!”</p><p>“What the fuck!”</p><p>The giant eye flicked up to the other survivor in time for a round of shotgun shells to be shot at it. It blinked as if only irritated, so she shot again and again. That fourth time seemed to do something, as it shut closed and the monster groaned in pain. But its grip on the officer was still too strong, so the only thing it could do was pick him up by his vest and slam him over and over into the floor. She could only watch in terror as she tried to quickly reload her gun but she wasn't fast enough. As Leon grunted with each slam, the floor beneath them began to give way until the grate finally buckled through. </p><p>“LEON!”</p><p>Leon and the monster hit the floor below them painfully, both stunned. The brunette rolled over, groaning and clutching his chest trying to catch his breath. Veronica peered over the broken walkway, looking around for a way to get down quickly. Her back slightly stung from using the gun, but the adrenaline helped with that.</p><p>“LEON, GET UP!” Hearing her, he rolled onto his feet quickly, just in time for the monster to do the same. He backed away and watched it swing a giant metal pipe at him as it tried to get its footing.</p><p>“Jesus! Words won’t work on this thing.” It doubled over, the human part clutching its head.</p><p>“RUN! I’ll find a way to get down!” Veronica shouted.</p><p>“NO! Stay up there! I got this!” he retorted before running away.</p><p>“As if,” she muttered to herself, watching as the monster gave chase. She looked out to see where they were heading before deciding she was just gonna have to get down the old fashioned way. As she sat on the edge to climb down, she could hear Leon say something about how they had no choice but to take it down. <em> Goddamn it.  </em></p><p>She pushed off and fell onto the floor beneath her. Her knees felt the brunt of it as she fell forward from the momentum, hands catching herself roughly. Her left foot stung for a moment, but she shook it off. As soon as they were out of this city, she was going to do some hardcore training.</p><p>Standing back up on shaky legs, she ran through the puzzling maze of the room following the sound of gunshots, loud bangs, and dragging metal. After some winding turns, she found Leon just in time for the monster to corner him. With its giant claw, it grabbed his head and pushed him onto his knees. Leon grunted in pain from its squeezing, his hands blindly reaching up to try and pry it away. Quickly coming up with an idea, she reached behind her and pulled the flash grenade pin.</p><p>“Keep your eyes shut!” she yelled as she threw it at the monster's feet. Remembering Leon’s instructions, she turned away and shut her eyes, hoping that it would work. It turned its body to see what it was only for it to be caught in a blinding flash. There was a sharp ringing in the survivors' ears after it went off but it faded away pretty quickly. She turned back and watched victoriously as the monster let go of its grip around Leon so that it could hunch over to recover from the flash. </p><p>Leon stumbled back in time for the light to be gone and looked over in surprise at Veronica. She pulled out her gun and began shooting at the back of the monster’s head while it was down. However, all too quickly, it got back up and instead turned its interest towards her.</p><p>“Uh oh!” She began to back away before taking off in a sprint in the other direction. She needed to reload her gun, but running made that hard. She turned a corner and stopped, looking back to see where it was. It wasn’t too far behind, slamming the giant pole against the environment around it, bending archways and breaking machines. More and more steam was being released into the air. </p><p>Handgun shots rang through the room from behind as Leon tried to distract it. She took this opportunity to quickly reload and tried to follow to get a better shot. It seemed to be taking damage as it fell to its knees. To their surprise, a man’s voice mixed with the monster’s groaned out as the man tried prying the eye open.</p><p>“HELP ME!” It was still somewhat human and for the moment, it was trying to help.  Clearly this was the weak point that they could use. Leon used the rest of his clip to shoot at it, hoping it was doing something. Veronica decided to run around and meet Leon and shoot together. However, the human side didn’t last long as the monster finally won over and got back onto its feet. </p><p>She took one shot then they both ran in separate directions just as the metal pipe slammed down where they stood. They didn’t get far and turned around in their respective areas to see if it was following them. The room felt like it had filled with even more steam and all they could hear was its groans and the dragging of the pipe echoing around them. Their surroundings were getting more and more hidden in the fog.</p><p>“Damn. Where is it?” she could hear Leon say gruffly. He didn’t sound that far away from her, maybe she could reach him. Just as she took a few more steps, the monster suddenly dropped down in front of her and grasped at her leg weakly. </p><p>“AH! Get off me!” she screamed, pulling back the gun and shooting the thing right in the face. It screamed in agony and let her go to clutch at its wounds. Finally free, she ran through the mist blindly, only to run straight into a familiar body with a yelp.</p><p>“Vee! It’s me!” Leon assured her breathily, arms grasping hers.</p><p>“Fuck! Leon!” Groaning interrupted them as the monster limped into view from their side. Veronica cocked her gun and walked closer watching as it tried to keep its balance. It was beginning to look weak, maybe just a few more shots. </p><p>“Just fucking die already!” She aimed her gun and began repeatedly shooting at the eyeball. It stumbled back, its hand grasping at a railing behind it. Leon joined her when she finished her round and needed to reload. She shot one last time before it tried to lunge forward, only to stumble back.</p><p>Whatever was mutated with the human began to expand in its chest. Something seemed to be happening painfully inside its body as indicated by the sound of bone crunching and the tearing of flesh. It turned around to grip the railing again, but the sheer weight of it only tipped it over. The two ran over to the railing to watch it fall with a scream down into an abyss. The glowing eye could be seen until it disappeared into the darkness. A splash finally indicated to them that it landed somewhere.</p><p>“Holy shit!”</p><p>Just as Leon was about to say something, they whipped their heads at the sound of a loud clang behind them. A ladder from the second-floor walkway, that they were supposed to get to, was let down for them to climb. Leon reloaded his gun and began walking towards it.</p><p>“Somebody’s watching us,” he noted, suspicious at the lack of anyone calling to them.</p><p>“Let’s hope they’re good people,” Veronica sighed. The adrenaline was beginning to die down causing her back to start throbbing a little. “Let’s look around for more supplies, then head up there. I need a break to check on my back and I’d rather not do it here.” They looked at each other with tired eyes before quickly embracing each other in a hug. He almost held her too tightly on the wrong spots.</p><p>“Easy there, rookie! I’m still hurting,” she told him gruffly. He pulled away slightly and apologized before knitting his eyebrows downward in concern.</p><p>“Veronica, what were you thinking!? You could’ve gotten yourself killed!”</p><p>“I was not going to let you fight that thing alone! You almost<em> did </em> get yourself killed! It almost popped your head like a grape!"</p><p>“But your back-!”</p><p>“Doesn’t matter! Like I said before, we’re partners! Together, we beat that thing and we’re fine now." He sighed in frustration, too proud to say she was right. "And frankly, I did end up saving your butt...again! At this rate, someone’s gotta start paying me” she smirked playfully. He couldn't help the smile on his lips as he shook his head in disbelief.</p><p>“I think you’re giving me a run for my money on my own job!” he chuckled softly. She wrapped the gun around her shoulders with a grin.</p><p>“Face it, rookie. Your job will be mine by the end of the night!” she giggled.</p><p>“Don’t count on it. C’mon. Let’s take what we need and get out of here! </p><p>They quickly went through the small area searching for supplies. Any door that they came across was locked and there seemed to be leftover bullets everywhere. Whoever was down here before them must have hid there for a while. They even found a regular grenade, much to Veronica’s surprise. Leon decided to take it since he was more equipped in handling something so dangerous. Once they were done, Leon climbed the ladder first and waited at the top for his partner. She took a good minute getting up due to her back, but she made it through.</p><p>At the top of the platform was a walkway leading to two directions. One led back to where they were attacked and there they found some more gunpowder and a green herb. The other way led to another staircase that went up to a control room. Past it, the walkway ended with a drop-off, a section of the floor hanging in the middle of the room away from where it was supposed to be.</p><p>“How do we get through?” Veronica inquired looking over the edge. Leon hummed curiously then walked back into the control room. There was a lever that stood high against all the other buttons, so he pulled it. It seemed to work as the separated platform began moving over to continue the walkway. It locked together with a loud thud much to their happiness.</p><p>“That worked!”</p><p>Their footsteps clanged against the metal beneath them noisily as they made their way across. The walkway led them to a small room that looked like it may have been some sort of storage room or breakroom for employees. There was a desk with a typewriter on it and next to it was another giant box. </p><p>Against the wall was a locker and in it was another pouch, which Leon gave to Veronica to use since he had two already. Besides that, the room didn’t have much in it, but to their surprise, there was a ladder that led to some sort of manhole above them. This could be their exit! Before they could check, Veronica groaned and bent down to rest on her knees.</p><p>“Can you check my back, please? It stings a little, but the pain meds are covering it up pretty well.”</p><p>“Sure! Sit!” She did just that on the big box and angled her body so he could access her back. He helped lift all her tops out of the way and looked over the bandages. They looked alright, maybe a little dark where the gauze was, but it wasn’t bleeding through. He carefully tugged them bit by bit just to peek under, it looked roughly the same as when he just fixed her up. </p><p>“Looks like it’s holding up just fine. I think you just worked yourself a little too much with that fight. If we have any gauze left later, we'll change it. Now, let’s rest for a minute.” They took this moment to breathe and check their supplies. She had gone through half her shotgun ammo in that fight alone, she was gonna need more soon. They regretted not taking the ammo they saw up in the station, but it was too late now. Speaking of ammo, Leon was also running low. That fight took a lot out of them.</p><p>“What a night it’s been,” Veronica sighed tiredly.</p><p>“Tell me about it,” Leon responded as he checked his gun. “Was not expecting it to get more and more screwed up as we go.”</p><p>“Will it ever end?” </p><p>“I don’t know. All we can do right now is hope we get out of here safely and hope that this thing doesn’t spread.”</p><p>“God, I hope not. I’m not sure if I could handle doing this every day. I can barely get through today without almost getting turned into something's lunch.” He looked over at her and shook his head.</p><p>“C’mon. Give yourself some credit! You’re doing a pretty good job at this whole survivor thing.”</p><p>“Psh! I guess.” He paused for a moment to think of something to prove to her that she was more awesome than she thought.</p><p>“For one, you’re getting braver with the shotgun. You were kicking some major ass back there!” he smiled encouragingly. She looked back up at him and smiled softly.</p><p>“I guess I am.”</p><p>“You are! Less than 2 hours ago, you were terrified of even holding the thing and now you just shot at a giant monster like it wasn’t even shit!”</p><p>"It just kinda happened. I couldn't just let it kill you!... I was really scared, but I didn't really think about it." He shook his head.</p><p>"In this situation, it's normal to be scared, but you didn't let your fear stop you and that's what's important. You're more badass than you think!"</p><p>“That’s only ‘cause I had a great teacher," she said, elbowing him gently.</p><p>“I guess he’s alright too,” he shrugged playfully.</p><p>“He’s more than alright! If it wasn't for him, I would probably be dead by now. He needs to give himself some credit too!” She said, leaning her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. He didn't respond as he laid his head on top of hers and the two took this moment to sit in silence. After about a minute, Leon raised his head and turned to hers.</p><p>“We should go. I might fall asleep if we keep this up.” On cue, his partner yawned as she raised her head.</p><p>“Ok. Let’s go.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After fighting against a monster in the basement of the RPD, Veronica and Leon find themselves locked in the police department's parking structure. While there, they meet a beautiful stranger who claims she's part of the FBI and now their new objective is to find the way out.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hopping off the box, they walked over to the ladder and Leon climbed up it first. He reached the top and placed his hands on the heavy manhole cover. With a little grunt, he pushed the lid up just a tad to carefully check the surrounding area. Seeing no immediate danger, he shoved the sewer cap away with a grunt and climbed out. He turned to help his partner out of the hole then took out his gun. </p><p>Looking around, they found themselves in an underground parking lot for the police station. Police cars were skewed randomly around the room, some broken while others just left abandoned. There were a couple of regular cars as well as the square S.W.A.T. like trucks parked there too. </p><p>The walls were all concrete besides the iron shutter gate that was currently shut closed on the other side of the lot. A police car’s lights on the outside were left on, shining into the room better than the actual lights of the place were. It was really quiet, save for their footsteps, the wind, and was that...howling?</p><p>That put them on edge as they drew closer to a yellow parking meter that sat next to their way out. While Leon tinkered with the machine, Veronica glanced around. There were three doors in the room. Each one had a light above it that was red, probably meaning that they were locked. If this didn't work, they might have to turn back or try to unlock the doors.</p><p>“Damn, need a keycard,” Leon told her. She took a look at the screen trying to see if maybe she could find a loophole, but found none. Suddenly, a low growling came from behind them, causing them to turn slowly to the sound. </p><p>It was a Doberman dog, but it looked like it had caught whatever the zombies had. Its eyes were a filmy white and its jaws were drenched in blood. It had already sustained some injuries as seen on its snout and body.</p><p>“Leon?!”</p><p>“You gotta be kidding me…,” The dog suddenly charged at them at a high speed, snarling in hunger. Veronica tried backing away as it leaped up at her but instead she was shoved out of the way, her body hitting the floor. She sat up in horror to watch as Leon was trampled back onto the floor as well with a shout, his gun knocked out of his hands. He used his arms to hold the dog back the best that he could. It’s snapping jaws were mere inches from his face.</p><p>“Get off of me!” </p><p>Veronica quickly got back on her feet and pulled out her gun. Instead of shooting, however, she flipped it over and ran at the dog. She swung the stock up its jaw, sending it flying. Leon's hands were too in the way and the dog was moving too much, she needed to at least get it to back off. She turned the gun over and shot the corpse before it could get back up. As she turned and got on her knees to help Leon, a woman’s voice called out from the shadows.</p><p>“Hey.” Leon sat up onto his elbows, both of them looking into the dark part of the lot. </p><p>“Who is that?” he asked out breathlessly. Near a light, they could see the outline of a woman.</p><p>“Stay sharp.” The dog began grumbling and was trying to get back up. Leon grabbed his gun at breakneck speed and shot it down before it could. The two looked at the dog until high heeled footsteps caught their attention. Leon raised his gun at the mysterious lady just as she did the same. </p><p>She was wearing a beige long overcoat that draped over black tights on long legs. On her feet were black stilettos and sunglasses over her eyes. A black-gloved hand aimed her handgun and a green plaid scarf was wrapped around her neck. Her outfit was an interesting choice in this situation, but who was anyone to judge. It at least looked nice with her short black hair that framed, what Veronica could only tell so far, a pretty face. The lady stood in front of them and reached in her pocket, gun still aimed.</p><p>“Lower it,” she warned. “F.B.I.” She pulled out a badge with certificates, showing them who she was. It looked pretty damn official. He was hesitant at first to lower his gun but ended up doing it, partially in relief.</p><p>“Sorry...Thank yo-,” he was interrupted as she slowly aimed her gun to the dog’s corpse and shot at it’s still moving figure. This time it was down for good. They watched as she lowered her gun. “For your help.”</p><p> "Surprised you both made it this far,” she replied, keeping her voice low before turning and walking in the opposite direction. Leon quickly hopped onto his feet, pulling Veronica up with him, and followed her. </p><p>“F.B.I., huh? What’s going on here?”</p><p>“Sorry. That information’s classified.”</p><p>“Are you serious?” Veronica scoffed. This was not a time for bullshit secrets, she thought.</p><p>“Where are you going?” Leon persisted, stopping the mystery lady. She turned, clearly annoyed at them.</p><p>“Do yourselves a favor: stop asking questions and get the hell out of here,” she ordered then turned and walked to the door on the opposite side of the lot. The light above it, as well as another on the other side, was green. Whoever the lady was must have done something to unlock them.</p><p> “Hey! I’m not done talking to you!” the officer shouted as she disappeared behind the door. The two partners looked at each other then ran over to follow her. </p><p>“Zombies, lickers, a monster, and now zombie dogs. What next?!” Veronica grumbled as they reached the door.</p><p>“Don’t know, but why do I feel like this is just the beginning?”</p><p>“Please don’t say that.”</p><p>Leon opened the door and walked into what looked like the entrance to some sort of barred off facility. They could hear the footsteps of the mystery woman's stilettos fading somewhere into the area. To their left was a small office and to their luck, on a wall inside it was a map. It was to this level of the police station called B1, aka a basement level.</p><p>“Looks like we're in the jail,” Veronica read over it, holding it out for the two to see. It appeared that was all that there was on that side, but there was a hell of a lot more on the other. This included a firing range, a morgue, a generator room, and a kennel.</p><p>“Explains the dogs then.”</p><p>“Those poor things. It looks like whatever is infecting humans can infect animals too. Just great,” Veronica sighed. She was about to put it away when she noticed something near the firing range. “It looks like there's a path that leads to somewhere from there,” she pointed out on the map.</p><p>“We are under the police station, and it looks like stairs. Maybe it just leads back up.”</p><p>“I guess if we need to get back there, we know how.” Leon picked up some ammo from a cabinet as she put away the map with the others in her jacket pocket. Now that she had a new pouch, it easily slid in without clumping up her pockets.</p><p>Walking out, they went through an iron-barred door that looked like it led to the rest of the jail. They carefully passed by a corpse that was lying face down on the ground that didn’t seem to move, but they crept by regardless. Perhaps that lady killed it. On one end of the hallway, there was a door that was locked, leaving the only way through to be through a dark corridor of jail cells.</p><p>As they passed through, they noticed that the cells were closed much to their relief. Each one had about 2 to 3 dead people in them. Some infected reached out for them through the bars snarling hungrily. Considering they were in a cell, they were safe. For now.</p><p>As they turned a corner, they could see a cell lit at the end and the smell of cigarette smoke grew stronger as they got closer. Reaching the cell, they were happy to see a living man smoking on a jail bed alone. He looked like he was lost in thought, a pensive look on his face, but was snapped out of it.</p><p>“Hello?” he called out, hearing their footsteps, Walking into view, they ran up to the bars, the man doing the same. He was tall and lanky, his long brown hair tied back into a low ponytail and a pair of glasses on his face. The sleeves to both his blue button-up shirt and brown jacket were rolled up to his forearms. Around his neck was a lanyard with what looked like a pass.</p><p>“Hey,” Leon greeted.</p><p>"Hi!" Veronica smiled, happy to see someone still alive.</p><p>“I don’t believe it. Real humans,” he chuckled nervously, but clearly still relieved to see them. He reached up to casually grasp one of the bars to his cell. “Hello, humans.”</p><p>“You been here long?” Veronica’s partner asked, looking around to see if he could unlock it.</p><p>“Long enough. Are we the last ones alive?”</p><p>“No, no, there’s a few of us...”</p><p>“Oh...that’s good news, I guess.” Leon nodded. “Unless, of course, Irons sent you.”</p><p>“Irons…? You mean Chief Irons? Is he still around?”</p><p>“Who cares. Hopefully, he’s somebody’s dinner by now.” Leon leaned away, eyebrows knitting in confusion.</p><p>“What do you mean by that?”</p><p>“He’s the bastard that locked me in here.” The officer seemed to be put off by that.</p><p>“I’m sure he had a good reason.” Veronica looked over at Leon slightly taken back. <em> Why is he acting this way? </em></p><p>“He did.” He took a long drag of his cigarette, then blew out slowly as he flicked it at the ground.  “I was about to blow the whistle on his dirty ass. I’d have done the same thing too, I guess.” She wondered briefly what it was and was about to ask when the sound of a door opening caught their attention. They all peered down the hallway seeing nothing. Ben began to look frantic.</p><p>“Hey! I’ll make you guys a deal…” he leaned against the door again and lifted the lanyard into view. “Unlock this cell and I’ll give you this. There’s no other way outta that parking garage! Believe me!” It was a parking permit! Veronica was about to agree, but Leon cut in before she could.</p><p>“Sorry...I can’t do that. I have to talk to the chief first.” She looked at him incredulously.</p><p>“What?! Leon, we have to get him out!” The sound of another gate screeching open down the hall, caught their attention. Again there was nothing.</p><p>“Listen to your girlfriend, man! Look, we’re all prisoners in this station. So either we play nice and help each other out-” The eerie sounds were growing louder.</p><p>“Shit. It’s coming.” The man began backing into his cell, clearly frightened beyond belief.</p><p>“What-what’s coming?” Leon questioned, frantic for an answer as he grabbed onto the cell doors. He tried giving the door a few shoves, but it was futile. Veronica looked at the wall next to them and realized that it was an electric lock. They needed time to figure it out.</p><p>“C’mon-c’mon, don’t be an asshole...ok? You need this!” His back touched the brick wall behind him. "Just get me the fuck outta here!” he screamed. </p><p>Suddenly, a giant gloved hand broke through the brick wall behind him and grabbed the man’s face. Veronica yelped in shock as Leon drew his gun and aimed, but it was useless. The hand lifted the man off the ground, it’s arm tearing through the wall like butter. The man screamed in terror as he was dragged up really high, his head being squeezed tighter and tighter.</p><p>Then suddenly his head popped with a loud crack, blood exploding everywhere and the screaming stopped. Both Leon and Veronica gasped in shock. The brunette suddenly didn’t feel so good. She quickly turned away and fell to her knees. She couldn't watch it anymore. It wasn't something that could be unseen.</p><p>She just watched a man’s head explode by an unseen large figure. Her stomach lurched as it replayed in her head, but there was nothing left to throw up. That man was alive and he just fucking exploded. It was one thing to witness the dead feasting on the dead, but he was <em> alive </em> and was killed like he was only a mere bug.</p><p>“Oh my god…” Leon whispered in horror as the body was dropped onto the floor, sitting against the wall. The man's head had collapsed into itself and one of his eyes was bulging from its socket. The officer listened as thundering footsteps faded away, hopefully far enough away from them. A small whimper from behind him caught his attention so he turned to find his friend huddled on the floor. Her arms were wrapped around herself and her body was trembling.</p><p>“Vee? Are you ok?!” All she could do was shake her head, shutting her eyes and trying to will the memory away. “Hey. Take it easy. I need you to breathe,” he said kneeling at her side. She tried doing so, but it came in and out shakily. </p><p>"H-his head...I-It just f-fucking-," she stuttered through breaths. He gently placed his hands on her arms.</p><p>"I know just take a deep breath. C'mon, breathe with me." He began inhaling and exhaling, leading her to do the same. She slowly followed him, breathing in and out till she had calmed down. The grip she had around her body loosened as she opened her eyes to look at him. He smiled softly and rubbed her shoulders comfortingly, causing her to lean into his touch.</p><p>"Ok…Ok. I'm ok now. I'm sorry. That was just really fucked up."</p><p>"Don't apologize! You'd think we've seen it all by now."</p><p>"Yeah, you'd think. Just another breakdown, I guess. Mind helping me up?"</p><p>"Of course." He got up first and easily helped her onto her feet. Her knees still felt a little wobbly, but she grounded herself the best that she could. She avoided looking at the dead man's body, too afraid to see the remains.</p><p>Suddenly the sound of footsteps caught their attention. Leon drew his gun and aimed in the shadows. They hoped it wasn't the giant making a return.</p><p>“Who is that?” The footsteps began to sound like stiletto heels as it drew closer and to their relief, the mystery woman came into light. She nonchalantly nodded at them.</p><p>“It’s just me, so you can put that thing away.” He lowered his gun the moment she spoke, watching as she walked up to the cell bars. Her expression changed to one of surprise. He gestured to the body nervously as he tried to explain.</p><p>“I don’t even know what happened- It just...happened so quick.” She looked over at Leon with a concerned expression, as much as they could tell with the sunglasses.</p><p>“I told you two to get out of here.” She gestured a nod to the guy. “You wouldn’t want to end up like Ben, would you?” Leon looked up at her from the carnage.</p><p>“You knew him?” She crossed her arms, contemplating the scene.</p><p>“He was an informant. Had information of use to my investigation.”</p><p>“So what he said was true?” She didn't say anything then began walking away. Leon followed her, a little ticked off at her attitude, his arm reaching for hers. “Hey, you can’t keep walking away from us!” He barely grabbed her arm before she wrenched it out of his hand and glared at him. “We don’t even know your name.” Veronica walked up behind him, unsure of what to do or say. “I’m Leon Kennedy, and this is my partner,” he gestured.</p><p>“Veronica Lopez.” The mystery lady’s mouth drew up into a small smirk at the both of them.</p><p>“Find a way out, Veronica, Leon. Before it’s too late...Then we’ll talk.” She turned and began to walk away. “Name’s Ada.” They watched as she disappeared around a corner, her footsteps fading away till there was silence. The two survivors looked at each other then back at the body to the lanyard around his neck.</p><p>“Well, I guess the deal’s on,” Leon stated. </p><p>“God. Leon, we should have let him out as soon as we found him,” Veronica whispered, her eyes finally settling on the carnage. </p><p>“I’m not exactly sure how we could have. It happened so fast and there’s no key.”</p><p>"The door has to be electronic or something. There's this thing on the wall that looks like it’s connected,” she pointed out. It was a silver breaker box with wires and electric parts that seemed to be missing. </p><p>“We wouldn’t have been able to open it. It’s missing some pieces.”</p><p>“He didn’t deserve to die like that. What was that thing anyways!?”</p><p>“I don’t know and I don’t want to find out.”</p><p>She poked around a desk that sat against the wall near the breaker box and found a red crank tool and a piece of paper. She read through it while Leon checked the other side of the room.</p><p>“I got it! There are power panel parts in the generator room and the clock tower,” she informed him. “A clock tower?” She vaguely remembered seeing the giant clock in front of the building. “It must be on the third floor to the station. We have to get back up somehow.”</p><p>“Maybe that pathway we saw on the map will lead there.” Veronica quickly pulled out the map and looked over it. </p><p>“It’s right next to the generator room too! Just gotta get through the other section of this place.” They made their way out of the jail, taking the crank with them, curious to see how it could help them. On the way out, they had to kill the zombie they saw in the beginning as it immediately started getting up when it saw them. It was a quick kill.</p><p>The parking lot seemed to be lit a lot brighter. Whatever unlocked the doors must have turned on all the lights as well. It was a nice change compared to the low light they had been in constantly. They quickly ran over to the other green-lit door, making sure that the other door was indeed locked as they suspected. </p><p>Peeking through the door window, it was very dark inside with a dim red light lit somewhere in the hallway. They carefully walked in and immediately tensed at the sound of a group of dogs barking and growling somewhere in a room nearby.</p><p>“They’re probably in the kennel. We have to be careful,” Veronica noted as she took out her gun. They decided to skip out on that part for now and go towards the way that could lead up to the station. Unfortunately, they found it to be electronically locked, a red light above the door glowing brightly. </p><p>Next to the door was a window peeking into the generator room. A bright light was placed on the floor in the corner of the room. That would be the place to go to electronically unlock the door. However, they had to get either past or through the kennel to get there. Near the door they came from, there was a fork between the path they were on and the other led to that other side.</p><p>Deciding to stall, they went to the firing range first. It was pitch dark inside, their flashlights shining brightly through the room. In the actual range, two dead officers lay on the floor, unmoving. They decided not to take any chances and crept through the room quietly. On a table across from the shooting booths, was a yellow metal box and a piece of paper. It said that inside the box was a broken key to a patrol car, but the buttons on it still worked.</p><p>They carefully opened the box and took out a bent car key. It said the buttons still worked, maybe they could find something helpful in the car. That is if it's in the lot at all. Moving on, they found two doors at a bend in the room. One door led to the range, while another was locked with the pink diamond insignia. <em> That's right. I forgot there were these types of doors. </em></p><p>They decided not to go through the range door and instead peeked in through the shooting stalls. Nothing looked to be important. That is until Veronica noticed a box of shotgun ammo sitting next to one of the corpses. She gestured her fingers to her eyes then at the body. Keep an eye on it, she told him. </p><p>She got on her hands and knees and climbed under a stall. It wasn't too far, she just had to stretch her hand out. Her heart thumped in her chest as she gently grabbed hold of the box and pulled it away. She slowly backed up and out of the stall in relief. If it wasn't truly dead, it didn't hear her. The room was clear for now till they could find the diamond key.</p><p>They left the room quietly and decided to use the car key before they continued. Now they were really stalling. Once back out into the lot, Leon pressed the unlock button on the key, a car beep echoing in the room. Looking around, they saw a random police car sitting against a wall with its lights blinking and the trunk popped open. Inside it was a long gray gunstock made for a handgun. The young officer picked it up then hummed indifferently at it.</p><p>“This is for a gun like Matilda. It could help fire more rounds per trigger, but then it makes my gun all clunky to take out. I think I’m gonna leave it.”</p><p>“So much for that. Well, we can’t hold it off any longer. We have to go through the kennel.” Her partner groaned, clearly evident he did not want another run-in with those dogs. “I know. C’mon, rookie,” she said patting him on the shoulder.</p><p>The pair walked back to the dark hallway and took the right pathway towards their undesired location. Turning the corner, the hallway was blocked off by a blockade, leaving the only way to the other side through the kennel. The closer to the door leading to the room they got, the louder the barking and growling were. However, as they were about to open the door, Leon noticed a potted plant near the blockade. It was a blue plant and it suddenly reminded him of herbs.</p><p>“Hey. Wasn’t there a blue herb option in that book we read earlier?” he whispered. His companion looked over then went and grabbed it. Remembering that she tore the page, she reached into a pocket and pulled out a crumpled up paper. It was a little worse for wear but still legible.</p><p>“Yeah. It’s for poisons and toxins. It might also give a little protective boost if added to the other two colors in a triple combo. It looks like the picture! Should we take it?” she asked, tossing the paper on the ground. They had gotten what they needed out of it, it wasn’t of any use anymore.</p><p>“Might as well. You never really know what we’ll have to go up against next.” She nodded and added the new herb to her herb bag. Finally, it was time to go in. Leon grasped the handle and slowly opened the door. Peeking around it, he found the room not to be crawling with dogs, instead, they were in cages stacked against the walls. They walked in carefully, relieved to see they weren’t about to be chased down by those things. </p><p>The place was surprisingly clean besides some splatter of blood on the dog cages. The dogs barked incessantly at the survivors, teeth biting at the bars holding them back. Veronica walked in front of them and shook her head.</p><p>“I hate this, but we have to kill them.” Leon looked at her a little sad but understood. Despite being zombie dogs, they were still dogs. But then again, they were also still zombies.  </p><p>“I mean, do we have to?”</p><p>“With unlocking the door up to the station, we might unlock these things. We don’t need them running after us in a group. Besides, we should put them out of their misery.”</p><p>“Fair point,” he sighed then nodded. “They were police dogs. They were officially good boys.”</p><p>“I’m just gonna shoot with my eyes closed.” They each took a couple of cages and sadly sent the dogs away. “That was probably one of the saddest things I have ever done. Zombies or not.”</p><p>“At least we’re safe now. Hopefully, there’s no more running around.” In the room, they were able to find some high-grade gunpowder before continuing. The room in connection to the kennel held a bunch of storage shelves holding giant bags of what could possibly be dog food till it reached a door. Past it was a continuation of the hallway that was blockaded, leading to another fork. </p><p>According to the map, the door right in front of them was the morgue, while the other way led to the generator room. However, that way seemed to be blocked by a giant metal gate, so they decided they would check the morgue first. It seemed almost counterintuitive to go into a room made for the dead, but there could be something useful inside.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After meeting Ada, they finally were able to make it back up to the RPD. Even though they weren't gone long, they didn't know what had changed since they left and were about to find out.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Real quick note, I have no idea how the herbs truly work. I know they're a healing item, but there's no indicator that I had personally found that told me how they worked. So I made some shit up lol This chapter got a little weird writing wise, but oh well.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was just as dark in the morgue as it was to the rest of that section of the parking structure. It made sense if the power wasn’t on, which hopefully the generator room would fix. Walking in, they were met with a dead man lying by the door, but he didn’t move as they passed. </p><p>The room looked like any other morgue you would see in movies. There were rows of metal cold lockers along each wall, but the middle of the room was a mess of cleaning supplies and carts. A piece of paper sat on a table telling them of a kleptomaniac who was supposed to be lying in one of the lockers. Perhaps he stole something that could be of use. </p><p>They decided to go through each locker one by one to see if there was anything that could be helpful in them. People hide shit all the time, as they so learned throughout the night. Walking up to the first one, they looked at each other expectantly, but no one made a move.</p><p>“Rock, paper, scissors to see who opens it?” Veronica suggested. Leon pursed his lips in thought then lifted his hands in preparation with a small smile. <em> Might as well make this enjoyable somehow. </em></p><p>“Rock, paper, scissors,” they both said in unison before showing their hands. Leon had paper and Veronica had scissors. He groaned as she jokingly snipped her fingers at his paper. Carefully, she watched him pull back the tray only to find...nothing. This went on with every locker, eventually finding some more red herbs. At one specific one, they pulled it out by an inch only for a body to be spasming uncontrollably inside.</p><p>“I’m just gonna close this,” Veronica mumbled, pushing it back in. At the end of that line, Leon opened it to a dead body, but before he could close it, something caught his eye. By the corpse’s shoulder was a flash grenade.</p><p>“Vee, take the grenade.” She gave him a look.</p><p>“Uh-uh! You take it!”</p><p>“C’mon, just take it! He isn’t moving!” She huffed.</p><p>“Ok fine! But if he suddenly jumps out at me, I’m going to punch <em> you </em>in the face.” She hesitantly reached out for it then quickly snatched it from the tray. The dead man did not move, much to their relief. Leon quickly pushed the tray back in and then they continued onto the other wall.</p><p>Quickly moving down the line, they didn’t find much, except for one that opened to monstrous sized cockroaches that made Leon shout in surprise. He shut that so fast, you would think his life was on the line. Clearly, he did not like bugs. Not that she blamed him. She wasn’t exactly a fan either.</p><p>Finally, they made it to the end and found the body they were looking for. Veronica pulled back the tray watching the dead man carefully. Leon looked over and, low and behold, there was the pink diamond key by the hand! <em> Looking for him was useful! </em></p><p>“The key!” He glanced up at her.</p><p>“Don’t look at me! I’m not getting it this time!” Veronica told him while gesturing her hands up in the way that her hands were free from this.</p><p>“Ok fine! It’s not that hard any-AH!” He shouted in surprise, backing away in time for the body to suddenly jump up at him and roll onto the ground. As if on cue, the corpse near the doorway began groaning as it got up from its spot.</p><p>“Great!” Veronica shot at the one on the floor while Leon worked on the other one. However, his gun emptied too quickly and the zombie was a speedy one. He lunged at Leon, arms trying to grab him at close range. Leon luckily caught it by the shoulders in time and reached behind him blindly. </p><p>He pushed, what he now realized was, the grenade he had into the zombie’s mouth then shoved it away from him, pulling the pin in the process. The survivors ducked down in time for an explosion to go off, causing head chunk to splatter everywhere and a ringing in their ears. They both stood back up and looked in amazement. </p><p>“That worked! That was impressive!” Veronica blinked. They quickly left the room and made their way to the gate that closed them off to the generator room. On the wall next to it, was a box that held a mechanism meant to lift it. It required a crank as said by the symbol on it. The brunette gasped as she held up the tool she picked up in the jail and placed it in. She began cranking away at the box, the gate slowly rising with each turn. Once she was done, she kept the crank with her, remembering that there was a gate that needed it up in the station.</p><p>On the other side was a small set of stairs leading to a door. The generator room was just through it! It was lit only by a red emergency light on the wall, but seemed empty of any monsters. There was a chain-linked fence that separated the parts of the room, but it was easy to navigate. On a cart right when they walked in, was an orange box taped on the corner. Reading the label, they were happy to find that it was an electronic part!</p><p>Opening the box was easy enough and out popped a small cube that looked like it was meant to fit in the jail’s lock.  Now they just needed to get the door to the station open so they can go back up and grab the other one. While looking around, they found another gunpowder can and stashed it before heading deeper into the room. </p><p>They turned a couple of corners till they reached the other end of the room that held a breaker box against the wall. It sat right next to the window that looked out at the door they needed to get through. There were four switches and two meters that had a red point that the needle must reach. They tinkered with it for a second before successfully hitting the mark.</p><p>The machines around them hummed with power as the lights everywhere flickered on. The door outside unlocked with a loud buzz and the light above it turned green. Now they just needed to head back the way they came. Unfortunately for them, dogs barking filled the area as their worst fear was realized. There must have been someplace that still had the dogs hidden somewhere and they unlocked it on accident. </p><p>A dog had somehow made it inside the room and was trying to climb over the gate to get to them. Veronica shot at it once before the two bolted out of there. It seemed like more and more dogs kept coming and somehow they were able to dodge them. They had just made it out of the kennel when Veronica remembered they had a new key.</p><p>“Leon! The firing range! We have that key!”</p><p>“You sure we should?”</p><p>“It’ll give us a little breather from these things!”</p><p>“Fine! Let’s hurry!”</p><p>They ran into the firing range, only to find the two zombies in the room wandering around. The lights coming on must have woken them up. They snarled at the survivors and began limping towards them. So Leon and Veronica shot to the door with the diamond insignia and quickly ran in. This had to be a quick search. They did end up finding a new film and more red herb, maybe not the best finds, but it was something.</p><p>The two ran out of the room before the zombies could escape the range and got through the green-lit door. Once it was shut behind them, they could hear dogs scratching at the door before finally losing interest and wandering away. The two survivors stopped to take a moment to catch their breath before continuing.</p><p>“That was a close one!” Veronica wheezed between pants.</p><p>“What is the film for anyways? I really hope it was worth it.” Veronica took it out of her pouch and looked over the label.</p><p>“It says ‘3F Locker’.” She thought for a moment on what it could be for. Reaching into her pocket, she brought out the police station map and looked over the third-floor section. “Maybe it’s a combination code. I haven’t updated the map yet, but I think I remember there being a padlocked locker on the third floor west side.”</p><p>“Hopefully it has something good in it.”</p><p>“I sure hope so. C’mon, let’s see if this way actually leads us up.”</p><p>“If it doesn’t, I’m gonna lose my shit.”</p><p>After putting away the map, they carefully ascended a set of stairs that lied just around the corner. At the top, they were relieved to see that they were in the station, but where exactly? It didn’t look like any place they had been in before. The walls were yellow wallpaper that looked green against the harsh lighting that lit up the room. Just down the hallway, they could hear the distant sound of zombies eating.</p><p>The windows that adorned the wall showed that it was still pouring outside, but all they could see were bushes. They didn’t know where the hallway led to, but on their immediate right was a lone door. There were cleaning supplies lying around, so maybe this was a custodial corner. Among the supplies rack, they found some shotgun ammo, much to their relief at their low ammo supply. That last fight with the giant monster really screwed them over.</p><p>Deciding to take things one at a time, they decided to check the door first. Carefully peeking in, they found that the room was dark, but was quiet. Leon turned on the lights and was met with a green break room. There were a couple of tables with chairs, some lockers, a big box, and a dartboard. </p><p>On the table was another blue herb, a typewriter, an old hat, and a radio. The fridge in the corner was the definite telling sign that this was a break room, and if that wasn’t it, the connecting room with bunk beds and a sink were. Thankfully, it was empty and the metal door could also be locked. This could be another designated safe room for them. </p><p>“Let’s rest for a moment. We can get our things together and update our maps,” Leon suggested. Veronica quickly locked the door and set her gun down before taking off her pads. Leon followed suit by taking off his gloves and setting his gun back in its holster. Then he began unstrapping his bulletproof vest with the help of his partner. Their skin and clothes were sweaty from the constant pressure of what they were strapped to and taking them off was a nice change.</p><p>“God, I’m already so tired,” she groaned while watching him set his vest on the table.</p><p>“Me too. This thing is heavy after a while,” he sighed as he began rotating his shoulders to relieve some of the aches. She was so used to seeing the vest that it was almost strange to see a regular police uniform without it. He looked very handsome as a regular officer, but it was sad to remember that he wouldn't be able to be one here anymore. She quickly looked away and decided on taking out all the supplies she had on hand, including what was in her pockets.</p><p>Leon followed suit with his two pouches and other supplies. They talked through what they had and what they could make with the gunpowders they had found. Around the room, they found some more high-quality gunpowder and ammo for Leon’s handgun. In the room with the beds, they found a box of magnum ammo and a fuse. They took both, just in case they were useful for something. </p><p>They made more ammo for Leon’s handgun since he used up a lot more than Veronica did. Especially since they remembered they had left behind shotgun ammo around the station, which they could get later. After that, they quickly updated the maps and the little book with their current status of things, as well as where they remembered supplies they had left lying around. They cleaned up their pouches, threw away pieces of information that were no longer useful then finally just took a moment to stop.</p><p>“How’s your back?” Leon asked as they walked into the room with beds. Veronica crawled on one and laid on her stomach.</p><p>“Sore, but not like how it used to be. How are you doing?”</p><p>“Just have a few cuts and bruises, but nothing I can’t handle.” She carefully got up and turned to him. </p><p>“Let me have a look. Considering this is a zombie outbreak, I don’t want anything getting infected.”</p><p>“You don’t have to do that,” he said while sitting next to her.</p><p>“It’s cool dude. Let me just see.” He angled his body towards her and watched as she pushed his hair away from his face. He suddenly felt nervous by her closeness and her stare. Her hands were warm against his skin and it was distracting. Looking over her face, he realized she had long eyelashes that fanned against her cheek with every blink. That and she had pretty shaped lips that while looked slightly chapped, still looked soft. There was even a beauty mark on her face that he never even noticed before. She was cuter up close than he thought.</p><p>She didn’t notice his staring but did see he was starting to bruise a little on his cheekbones, probably after being squeezed by the monster. They hadn’t darkened just yet, but no doubt they would be by the end of the night. The wince he gave when she touched that spot was a good indicator that it would hurt later. Checking his forehead, there was a decent sized gash on his temple that was hidden by his hair.</p><p>“Yeah, you got a good one here. Maybe we could test those herbs on it and see if it really heals up.”</p><p>“Um, sure. Go for it.” She got up from the bed and grabbed the bag of herbs from the other room before returning. Sitting back in her spot, she opened the bag and grabbed a pinch of the green and red herb mix. The blue wasn't really needed at that moment. </p><p>“I’m not exactly sure if I’m supposed to apply it or if it’s supposed to be ingested. Maybe we should try both?” He grabbed his own pinch of the mix and placed it in his mouth. It was dry and powdery but didn’t really taste like anything. While he did that, she rubbed the herb with her fingers gently across the cut.</p><p>“Whoa!” she whispered in astonishment. Whatever was in those things worked like magic, ‘cause the wound started closing over with new skin. It wasn’t a full heal over, but it was doing a good job. “Shit’s like magic I guess.”</p><p>“Guessing by your reaction, the herbs work.”</p><p>“Yeah! That’s if we don’t have any proper medical supplies.”</p><p>“Fair enough.” She closed up the bag then set it near Leon's thigh, before crawling back into the bed and laying onto her side. Leon shuffled back and leaned against the wall that the bed was pressed up against. His head tilted back as he relaxed, eyes closing tiredly. Lying down felt so nice, but they knew they didn’t have time to lay for too long.</p><p>"What do you think that guy, Ben, was hiding? About Irons,” she inquired, curious as to what the answer was. That and she was trying to keep herself awake.</p><p>"What do you mean?"</p><p>"He said he was going to expose him for something and that’s why he was locked up. But expose him for what?"</p><p>"I’m not sure. The guy probably made it up.”</p><p>“But if it was fake, why be put in jail?” Leon frowned, turning his head to her. He didn’t seem to like what she was trying to imply.</p><p>“Chief Irons is a kind man who's done a lot for the city! Even if he had stuff on him, who would believe him?” She sat up, eyebrows drawing down in concern.</p><p>“Leon, it’s possible that the guy might not be who he seems to be. I’ve never met him, but I mean…”</p><p>“So then you believe Ben?” he scoffed. She seemed taken aback by his sudden change in tone.</p><p>“I don’t know! Geez, Leon! What is with you? You did the same thing back in the jail. Frankly, I’m still confused as to why you were so hesitant about letting him out once he started talking about Irons.”</p><p>“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he shook his head. She blinked, her eyebrows furrowing more, annoyed at his attitude.</p><p>“You got all weird and said that you had to talk to the chief before letting him out. Dude, the guy might be dead considering how things are looking around us! That was super not cool! He had the parking pass and was ready to help us out if we helped him.”</p><p>“I know but-.”</p><p>“And what if he was right? That thing we read earlier about a superior officer. He clearly was a psycho but he was a superior officer. What if it was Irons?” she cut him off, putting two and two together.</p><p>"No way! Irons was a brave officer who cared for his community. He contributed a lot of resources to make it a better place. I met him once, he was a really nice guy. I looked up to him,” he retorted, scooting towards the edge of the bed, his gaze at the floor. She followed him closer and sat at his side, sighing at his naivety.</p><p>"Leon, did you know that Ted Bundy was considered to be a really nice guy by his peers and his community?” He looked up at her in slight surprise and also confusion. “They thought he was charming and even volunteered at a suicide prevention hotline. Do you remember what he did to those people?... Some people put up a facade and sometimes you have to learn that the hard way." Leon's expression grew serious at that. As much as he wanted to believe that his superior was a hero, perhaps she was right. Seeing his face, she sighed guiltily and pulled away.</p><p>“Look, I really hope that I’m wrong. That whatever he was going to be exposed for was something minor that may have just been unfortunate circumstances. I really do,” she looked over at her feet, suddenly feeling bad. “But Ben was a human being, stuck like we are. We should’ve just let him out regardless. Not like it matters anymore.” Now it was his turn to feel guilty. Leon placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, her gaze meeting his.</p><p>“No, you’re right. I'm sorry. I should’ve been better about the whole thing. It’s just that, Irons helped me get into the R.P.D.”</p><p>“I get it. I always try to see the good in people first too, but sometimes, it isn’t always the case. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to go all crazy on you about it. I was honestly just really curious about what Ben knew. But it doesn’t matter. What matters most is us getting out alive.” He shook his head.</p><p>“Maybe going crazy on me was for the best. Because you’re right and that’s ok,” he sighed. She patted the hand on her shoulder and was met with a small smile.</p><p>“Are we cool? Still partners?” she held out her fist, slightly nervous she ruined something.</p><p>“Yeah, we’re cool. Of course, we’re still partners! Wouldn't want it any other way,” he said with a grin as he met her fist with his in a fist bump. She internally sighed in relief as she grinned back. </p><p>“Ditto."</p><p>"Hey, how did you know all that Ted Bundy stuff anyway?"</p><p>"I did a paper on him in a psychology class. It was semi-interesting but also really fucked up, let me tell you."</p><p>"Geez."</p><p>"We should probably get going. We’ve been here for too long already.”</p><p>“Right.” </p><p>They began setting back up, putting protection back into place and pouches on their person. Taking a last look at the map, they made a plan to head upstairs and use the crank they still had on the gate blocking the hallway. It would lead to a staircase that went up to the third floor, which is where the clocktower was. It should be a one-shot through and if it didn't work, they could use the path in the library. </p><p>Once they were ready, they took out their guns and carefully peeked out into the hallway. It hadn't changed as they walked through, but as they passed a window, a zombie slammed against it, trying to get in. The survivors continued to walk in hopes of getting out of there before it could break through. They may have had a hammer but no wooden planks to board it up with.</p><p>However, they would be spending a little longer than they thought there because three zombies were feasting on the remains of a body at the end of the hallway. They were all at the foot of a metal gate that needed to be opened in order for them to get through to the rest of the R.P.D. As soon as they turned the corner, two out of the three zombies noticed them and got to their feet. </p><p>The survivors backed away and began shooting when they got too close. As soon as the other two were down, the one at the window broke through almost grabbing Leon in the process. Using the hammer they wished they could use for its true purpose, Veronica quickly spiked it through the head and it fell back outside onto the wet grass.</p><p>Until they could find more planks, they would have to use some sort of blockade. While the other zombie was still distracted with eating, the two ran back to the safe room and carried out one of the foldable tables. They placed it in front of the window and put some sandbags they found lying around at the base to keep it upright. It would have to do for now. Since the last zombie seemed to be enraptured in its meal, it made itself a quick kill with the hammer. </p><p>The body it was eating at was only the bottom half of a torso. Legs were splayed and the stomach was almost entirely consumed. Veronica gagged but kept herself from trying to throw up by not looking too closely. Leon, however, seemed to be upset at their findings.</p><p>"It's Elliot." His partner looked at him, her face full of shock.</p><p>"<em> That's </em> Elliot!?" He nodded. "Where's the rest of him?!"</p><p>"On the other side of the gate. I tried pulling him under to safety since it couldn't be raised up, but he ended up being eaten before I could get all of him out of there."</p><p>"Oh my god!"</p><p>"So, be prepared for the torso," he informed, raising the fuse they found into view. He placed it into a small fuse box on the wall and the gate began to rise slowly. As it rose higher, the pair were taken by surprise to see the top of Elliot crawling towards them, growling and clawing at the floor. His guts were out in the open and dragging behind him along the ground. Leon looked at the fusebox and found a knife stabbed into the wall next to it. He took it out and quickly stabbed the undead man in the head. It wasn't hard considering it was just a torso with arms. </p><p>"I'm sorry, Elliot. I couldn't save you in time," he whispered as he put the knife away. Veronica touched his arm to comfort him before they walked over the corpse and out of the office. They made their way to the fire escape and up it. The rain was still coming down hard and the helicopter was still on fire. In the hallway, they were surprised to see that the building wasn’t burning, but maybe the rain kept the flames at bay. </p><p>They carefully walked down the hall towards the gate and used the crank. It went up smoothly, leading to another part of the building. There was a doorway with a heart on it, which the map said it was Chief Irons’ office and a staircase that went both up and down a floor. The door leading to their destination was up the stairs on the third floor through a storage room. It was very dark ascending the stairs to a dusty mess of a room. Tools and cleaning supplies were scattered near the railing by the stairs, including boards that they took note of for later. The floor was coated in a layer of dust and dirt. Breathing in, it felt like an attic.</p><p>There were a couple of lockers against two of the walls and searching them they found more handgun ammo and a flash grenade. Veronica took that since Leon already had two on him. There were two doors in the room, just opposite of each other. Opening the one closer to the stairs, they found the storage room. As the door creaked open, they could hear the moans and groans of zombies somewhere in the room.</p><p>The room was dimly lit with a single working light that shined in one spot. There was a door just across the way that would lead to the third floor in the main hall. Another door to their left was a heart door much to their disappointment. The pair carefully walked in, peering through the shelves of boxes to find their targets. They got near the heart door and found two zombies just standing around, groaning to themselves.</p><p>Deciding to just sneak past them to the door, they went back the way they came and tried getting to it. Only to find out it was locked from the outside. Jiggling the handle and the unfortunate luck of a zombie walking into view, caught their attention. So they decided to just take them out. Once the zombies were stunned and fell down, the survivors did some stabbing to finish the job. However, Leon pulled back his knife to see it bent and broken.</p><p>“I guess I used it too much. Luckily, I have more!” he said, placing a new one in the sheath for better access. </p><p>“Lucky me, that I have an invincible hammer,” Veronica joked as they walked around. They did find a box of shotgun ammo and some blue herbs. In the middle of the room, there was a little alcove of shelves and, in the middle of it, on a box sat a giant gear.</p><p>“What could this be used for?” Veronica asked.</p><p>“No idea, but it could be important. Since it’s too big to carry, let’s just leave it for now.”</p><p>“Ok, but now we have an issue. The door’s locked. What now?” He thought about it for a second. </p><p>“We’ll have to go the long way by going to the library. While we’re on that side, we can also go to the linen room since we have that key,” he recalled from their map updating session. “We can also check downstairs on this side since we haven’t gone that way.”</p><p>“That sounds like a plan!”</p><p>The two walked back out and down the stairs, not bothering with the other door since they wanted to stay on track. Going down the extra flight of steps, they carefully made their way to the bottom. There was a door that was swung open to a winding hallway. </p><p>Just across from that door was another that was barricaded and the window on it was boarded up. A zombie was pressed against the other side peering at them and trying to get through but to no avail. Not wanting to take any chances, Veronica used her hammer through the broken glass and killed it quickly.</p><p>Just as she pulled away, a slam against a window at the end of the hall made them jump. Veronica looked at the hammer in her hand and back at the window. Then she had an idea. She told Leon to stay and keep an eye on the thing for a moment. She ran back up the stairs and found the boards she saw and a few nails lying around on a shelf. She got back down in time for the zombie to break the glass. </p><p>She shot it with her shotgun to make it quick, then the two quickly began to board up the window. It was the only one in the hallway that wasn’t, so this was good for them. Once it was boarded up, they continued forward by turning the corner and reaching the end of the hall. It was empty of zombies but there were two doors, each with a different insignia. One had the green club, while the other had the red heart. While they couldn’t get into either, they didn’t leave empty-handed. They found some gunpowder in a locker that sat against the wall across from the rooms.</p><p>Going back up, they made their way to the main hall. Looking over the balcony, they could see one lone zombie walking near the entrance to the building, but from their position, they couldn’t see if Marvin was still there. Veronica swallowed nervously and looked up at Leon.</p><p>“You think he’s…” she didn’t finish, unsure of which outcome she wanted to say.</p><p>“Not sure, but no matter what we gotta keep going, ok? If we have to…” he hesitated then looked back at her, his eyes softening sadly. “I’ll do it, ok?” She nodded slowly before they walked across the floor. As they reached the stairs, all they could tell was Marvin was still sitting where they left him, only his head was drooped over against his shoulder. Descending the stairs was torturous as they got closer.</p><p>“Marvin?” she called out softly once close enough. The lieutenant moaned then began moving. He turned towards them and started to stand up, the two of them wincing at the sight of his face. It was just like they thought. He was dead and he had become one of those things. He no longer clutched at his wounds, his skin pale and glassy. His eyes were fogged over in white and he barely had functioning limbs. He growled at them and began stalking towards them hungrily. Leon raised his gun and took a step back.</p><p>“Marvin...Aw, no...Dammit!”</p><p>“No!”</p><p>“Vee, look away,” he called behind to her. She turned her head then heard a couple of gunshots go off followed by a thud. Looking back slowly, Marvin was on the floor dead for good. Leon sighed sadly as he stood over his fallen brother.</p><p>“I’ll stop this, Lieutenant...I promise,” he said softly.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Now fully back in the station, the two survivors began their journey in looking for the electronic parts. While a little sad at Marvin's fate, they continue to push forward to survive the station once again.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Things are about to get indulgent af! I'm a sucker for cliches lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Using a nearby piece of tarp to drape over the body in respect, Veronica watched as Leon's shoulders sagged in defeat when he was done. As he stood over it, she couldn't help herself as she walked up behind him then reached out her arms, her bottom lip quivering. He jumped in surprise as she wrapped them around his waist and laid her head against his back. Looking down at the arms squeezing him gently, he placed a hand on the ones gripping his vest, lacing his fingers with hers. </p><p>“It’ll be ok, Vee.”</p><p>She didn’t say anything for a moment till he pulled away to turn to her. He glanced over her face for a moment but was interrupted by another growl coming from behind them. It was the zombie they saw wandering by the front door. It had finally noticed them. Veronica took this upon herself to shoot out her frustration at it, knowing Leon was still a little sensitive for the time being. Once it was down, the giant room became silent again and it was painful.</p><p>“Let’s go,” he whispered. He was about to turn towards the stairs but was stopped by a hand grabbing his arm. He turned his head and found her looking at him with sad eyes.</p><p>“Could you just...hold my hand for a little bit?... Please?” He was surprised by her request, but did it without hesitation, his hand grasping hers. </p><p>"You ok?"</p><p>"Yeah, I'm just...I need some reassurance right now." He nodded in understanding. The feeling of her hand felt nice in his during such a horrid time.</p><p>“Let’s go,” he said, squeezing it. Just as they were about to head toward the stairs, they realized that the underground room beneath the statue was open. They looked at each other confused then decided to go check it out. Nothing looked different except for the fact that it was open at all. </p><p>“Didn’t this close behind us when we got down here?” Veronica questioned.</p><p>“Yeah. I even pointed out that there was this crank here that would probably open it back up if we needed to come back.”</p><p>“Then how did it open? You don’t think something followed us, do you?” Leon took a moment to think about it until he noticed a couple of bloody boot prints on the floor leading toward the elevator. He looked at his boots then at Veronica’s shoes. They didn’t look like they matched the print and he was positive the floor was clean when they first got there.</p><p>“No, but I think someone came the same way. Look!” he pointed it out to her. She walked over and pressed her shoe alongside it to see. They were almost the same size, only the boot was a tad bigger. </p><p>“Who else could’ve-,” she blinked as a pretty face popped up in her head. “Claire!”</p><p>“You think it’s her?”</p><p>“It has to be! Unless someone else is down here with us. It’s about the same size as me, which makes it more likely to be a girl, right?” He nodded.</p><p>“Maybe she was able to find a way in after we left. She’s probably still alive!”</p><p>“Hopefully we’ll be able to run into her before we leave!” With that said, they left the room and went back up to the main hall.</p><p>Taking her hand in his again, Leon led the way up the stairs and headed towards the library. The room didn’t look like it had any new enemies in it, so they could now search the room for supplies. They couldn’t seem to find anything else, but they did find the broken walkway above them and the row of sliding bookshelves beneath it. One of them was being propped up by a jack with no handle. </p><p>“You know we could make a new walkway if we move these shelves. We would just need to fix the jack,” Veronica suggested, nodding to the bookcases. She squeezed his hand before letting it go to move one of the shelves over and, funnily enough, she found a box of ammo hiding behind it. “Oo! Almost missed ya!” she mumbled as she picked it up then handed it to Leon.</p><p>“It’s something we can think about if we find the handle. Until then, let’s just use the walkway.”</p><p>“Pfft! Too easy,” she joked as they went over to the stairs. As they walked across the second-floor walkway, Veronica stopped in her tracks as she heard a muffled hissing coming from the door just across the room. Leon stopped, noticing her lagging behind.</p><p>“Vee?”</p><p>“Did you hear that?” They stood there quiet for a second and it happened again. Leon knew exactly what it was.</p><p>“There’s a licker in the statue room. I got cornered when I detonated the bomb, remember?”</p><p>“Oh! Right! I forgot!”</p><p>“Don’t worry. The door is barricaded, so it can’t get in,” he said, turning to walk again. However, he only made it a few feet before the wooden floor beneath him collapsed. He fell through and landed on the floor below them with a loud grunt.</p><p>“LEON!” </p><p>She looked over the edge of where he had fallen through to see him trying to get up off the floor. She turned and ran down the stairs towards him. He coughed through the cloud of dust and was brushing himself off while still kneeling on the floor. “Jesus! Are you ok?” She helped fluff the wood chips out of his hair then reached down to hook her arm around his.</p><p>“I’m fine. Landed surprisingly on my feet before falling over,” he told her as she helped him up. He looked up at the hole he came through then over at the bookshelves. “I guess we have no choice, but to go your way.”</p><p>"To think that was just a joke,” she sighed. “Just another thing to look for."</p><p>"Well, we can start with the linen room and work from there to find places we haven't searched." She nodded as she looked up at his face. There was a patch of dust on his cheek, so without thinking she reached up and dusted it away with her thumb. "You trying to pinch my cheeks or something?" he grinned. She giggled as she did just that jokingly with both hands on either side of his cheeks.</p><p>"It's hard not to! They're just so pinchable!" she teased, now squishing them together.</p><p>"Ok grandma!" he laughed through puckered fish lips. She found it very adorable, including the fact that he was letting her. He gently reached up and took her hands down, freeing his face from her torture.</p><p>"Don’t sass me, boy!" The brunette jokingly said in a grandma-like voice. The pair laughed as they began walking towards the door that would lead to the rest of the second floor. "It was just some dust!" </p><p>They passed through the lounge and to the second-floor hallway. Even though the linen room was right there, they took a peek around the corner to check if the licker was still dead. It was, much to their relief. Once that was done, Leon unlocked the diamond door to a small room with washer-dryer units inside it. Folded up linens sat on racks, as well as a blue gunpowder can and, to their surprise, another portable safe. It was randomly sitting on top of a dryer.</p><p>“Oh! Maybe it’s the other button!” Leon said picking it up. “Can I give it a try?”</p><p>“Go ahead!” He played around with the buttons and solved it in no time at all. Out popped a white button for a keypad, similar to the last one in the other portable safe.</p><p>“We can get the rest of the stuff down in the security deposit room now.” </p><p>They walked back out into the hallway and began heading back down to the first floor to get the extra supplies. Right after they passed the S.T.A.R.S. office, they picked up an almost forgotten box of shotgun ammo before heading through the locker rooms. Things still looked the same, but that didn’t stop them from being careful while walking around. This proved to be a good thing to do because as they were descending the stairs near the safe room, a loud hiss stopped them in their tracks.</p><p>Their blood ran cold as they realized what the sound was as it echoed in the room. Shining a light down the hallway, they could see the faint hind legs of a licker sitting on the floor near the west office door. Leon tapped the brunette on the shoulder, gaining her attention. He put a finger to his lips then pointed to the safe room door, just a few feet away. Considering where the licker was, it should be no problem getting there as long as they stayed quiet. </p><p>Veronica swallowed nervously as the pair slowly made their way to the door. Thankfully, the monster didn’t even notice their presence, too busy with whatever it was doing. As soon as they were inside, they locked the door and let out a sigh in relief. She leaned against the wall, trying to calm her nerves while he paced near the desk in thought.</p><p>“How did it get in here?” she questioned softly, one of her hands picking at her bottom lip nervously. Her back ached at the thought of that monster out there.</p><p>“It must have crawled in through a broken window somewhere. Who knows how many of those things are crawling around the city.”</p><p>“That makes running through the streets not really a good option unless we are somehow quiet the entire time. You think the sewers are any better like Elliot said?” He stopped in his tracks to look at her. She looked like a nervous wreck, not a surprise considering the three long gashes on her back.</p><p>“No idea, but I’m willing to take the chance. Maybe Ada knows a better way out.” She looked up at him, suddenly remembering the F.B.I. agent. It gave her a glimmer of hope knowing there was a professional somewhere in the building.</p><p>“Right! I wonder where she is! We haven’t passed her at all since we’ve been here.”</p><p>“Now that you say that, you’re right! Maybe she’s hiding?” She shrugged.</p><p>“Whatever she’s doing, I hope she’s ok! I really don’t want anyone else dying tonight,” she replied with a hint of sadness to her voice. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, reassuringly.</p><p>“No one else will. We just gotta keep pushing through till we make it out. Ok?” She nodded before taking a deep breath.</p><p>“Yeah. Ok.” She paused and looked over at the door. “So how do we get to the security deposit room? If it’s just sitting there in front of it, there’s no way we can get through.” Leon thought about it for a moment. </p><p>“Maybe we can use something in here as a distraction,” he suggested, taking a look around for something small. He remembered that there were a couple of items in the lockers he left behind and in one he found a small metal can that held ink ribbon for the typewriter. He held it up with a triumphant smile. “I’ll throw this if it gets too close. If we need to, we’ll throw something from our pouches.” She bit her lip nervously before responding.</p><p>“Ok...ok. That’s a good plan.” </p><p> He went and stood in front of her again, placing his hand back on her shoulder. “We can do this. I know we can. The moment it notices us, I’ll throw it. You just stay behind me the whole time. I don’t want you getting attacked again.” She reached up to pat his hand gently.</p><p>“Ok,” she nodded. “What do we do when we’re done?” He asked her to take out the map and after looking at it came up with a plan.</p><p>We’ll go from there than straight through the west office. It looks like there is a boiler room here, possibly outside. There was a door we didn’t go through on the third floor east side. It’ll probably lead to this balcony area and maybe even to this room.”</p><p>“Maybe we’ll find what we’re looking for there.”</p><p>“Hopefully.” </p><p>With that as their plan, they forged on and carefully walked outside. Peering down the hall, the licker didn’t seem to have moved much. It must’ve been eating at a corpse, by the sound of it. Each step felt like a year as they drew closer. They were very happy that they were walking on tile, instead of wood because they certainly did not want a repeat of the events from earlier.</p><p>They finally reached the area, watching as the licker was picking at a body on the ground. However, as soon as they began walking towards the door, it seemed to have sensed them and whipped its head around. Leon’s grip on the ink ribbon can tightened, ready for throwing, he just had to wait for the right opportunity. The licker began to crawl towards them backing them towards the hallway. This was it!</p><p>The young officer quietly raised his arm and tossed the can over by the vending machines on the other side of the room. It clanged loudly against the wall and fell onto the floor, catching the licker’s attention immediately. Falling for it, the monster jumped away towards the sound with a loud screech. It clawed at the walls loudly, giving the pair enough time to get away and into the safety deposit room.</p><p>They shut the door quietly behind them and kept their voices to a whisper the entire time. Leon put the button into the keypad then Veronica told him the numbers on the lockers. In one, they found another pouch and the other had a knife. There was no need to use the room anymore, much to their relief. It would suck to go back and do this again. At least they could go up through the second floor whenever they would need to reach the safe room. The licker seemed to like the spot it was in. Before leaving, they split the loot, Leon took the pouch while she took the knife.</p><p>Near the top of the door were thin window slits that peeked out into the hallway. Leon checked through it and saw the licker still in the corner picking at a different dead body. He carefully opened the metal door, but unfortunately, it squeaked a little too loudly as he was stepping out. The licker turned its head and began stalking toward the sound. </p><p>Veronica dug through one of her pouches hastily and pulled something out to hand to Leon. She realized as she handed it to him that it was the spade key. He didn’t bother looking as he grabbed it and tossed it over to the part of the hallway where the first window they jumped down from in the beginning. The creature hissed chasing the sound and disappeared around the corner. </p><p>Leon grabbed his companion’s wrist and pulled her out of the room. They crept through and quickly got into the west office with no trouble. Once the door was closed, they relaxed for a moment before heading towards the other door. The main hall was still too quiet, but the pair persevered past the lieutenant’s body. They made their way up the stairs to the east side, through the waiting room, and down the left hallway. Finally, they jogged up to the third floor and reached the door that opened to an open balcony area outside. </p><p>The rain had lightened a little, but not by much. It had been a while since they had been outside, the cold biting through their clothes. The small balcony area was mostly empty space save for two tables with chairs on the opposite side. </p><p>On one of the tables was a blue herb, so they took it. To their left, there was a ladder that led down to an outside area of the station. The courtyard was bathed in the orange glow of the helicopter fire that had happened earlier. This must be the other side that they couldn’t reach before. Leon shined his light on the ladder and nodded.</p><p>“Boiler room must be down this way. I’ll go first.” </p><p>“Be careful.” The young officer put away his gun and flashlight before grabbing onto the ladder handles. He turned and began climbing down, only making it a few steps before the ladder creaked loudly under him. </p><p>With a loud crack, the ladder suddenly broke apart in his hands causing him to sway in the air dangerously. Leon tried to get himself balanced but to no avail. The ladder swung back and caused both it and Leon to fall to the ground. The bang of the metal hitting the floor was loud, but not as loud as the unlucky officer’s painful grunt.</p><p>“LEON!”</p><p>He glanced up, seeing her peering down at him worriedly through the rain. He took a moment to check on himself, finding that nothing felt broken, much to his relief. But it did hurt like a motherfucker. Getting back on his feet, he groaned rubbing at his hip that was beginning to throb. He shined his light up at the broken ladder, most of it now missing.</p><p>“Dammit.”</p><p>“Are you ok?!”</p><p>“Yeah. I’m fine! That was not fun!”</p><p>“Yeah, no kidding! What is it with you and falling from large heights?”</p><p>“Guess that’s my luck.” She looked around then down at the wall.</p><p>“What do I do? You’re kind of stranded down there!”</p><p>“You should stay up there and wait for me to find a way around!” She shook her head incredulously at his suggestion.</p><p>“Not happening! I’m not leaving you to fend for yourself. I’m getting down there one way or another!” she asserted. She put her things away and peered over the edge to look at the wall.</p><p>“Vee, no! That’s too dangerous!”</p><p>“Too bad!” </p><p>“Dammit,” he grumbled to himself, stepping closer to the wall just in case. She was a stubborn one. “Be careful!” He watched as she reached at her side and took out her hammer. She told him it was in case she fell as she tossed it onto the ground near him. He grabbed it and placed it far enough away where she wouldn't hit it on accident.</p><p>"Ok. This is just like rock climbing...only more dangerous," she muttered to herself.</p><p>She knelt onto the edge of the building and used one hand to grasp the concrete while the other grabbed onto the top remaining part of the ladder. Keeping her grasp tight, she swung a leg over and began sliding down till her one foot hit a small shelf to stand on. Once she had good footing on it, she swung over her other foot, placing it down, and slowly began to kneel. </p><p>Her grasp on the ladder tightened as she lowered herself into the small alcove that the shelf was in. Thank god for old fashioned architecture. It was deep enough where she could slide in and sit without the worry of falling. She sat there for a second, trying to calm herself down after succeeding in climbing down without dying. Now, this was the tricky part. </p><p>She has to use the leftover metal bar that the ladder was attached to, to climb down. It was going to be hard and slippery, but she had to try. Looking over the edge, she began to regret her life choices. </p><p>“Ok. I can do this!” </p><p>“You ok?”</p><p>“Not gonna lie! I’m regretting this a little bit!” She scooted near the metal bars and grabbed a hold of one of them. There was a pipe just below that looked like it could hold her for a second, so she began scooting down till her feet hit the pipe. Her foot slightly slipped a little causing her to grasp on tightly to the bar, her heart thumping in her chest.</p><p>She put her foot back and pushed through the fear, swinging a foot between the bars and holding onto the one. Slowly, but surely she began climbing down and it worked for a few feet till she was just below the pipe when her feet slipped on the wet brick. She yelped loudly and stopped moving, her feet slowly sliding against the wall. Her shoes couldn't get a good grip on the soaking wet brick wall. At this rate, she wasn’t going to get down without falling.</p><p>“Shit!” she hissed, carefully looking over her shoulder. She bit her lip nervously realizing how high up she was. Leon was watching her carefully then walked closer and held out his arms.</p><p>“Just jump off! I’ll catch you!” </p><p>“You sure? This is still pretty high!”</p><p>“Don’t worry! I got you!” </p><p>"Ok!"</p><p>She twisted her body to him so that she would land forward instead of back. She took a deep breath, cursed under her breath, then pushed herself off of the wall. Falling into his arms, she felt them wrap around her waist before he began stumbling back way too quickly. </p><p>“Whoa!” They both landed onto the floor with an <em> oof </em>, Leon’s arms tightening themselves around her waist. The wind was knocked out of both of them upon impact. Once Veronica got her bearings, she pressed her hands onto the wet concrete to quickly pull back and keep her weight off of him.</p><p>“I’m so sorry!” He shook his head, slightly sitting up and rubbing at his now sore neck.</p><p>“It was me that time. My boot slipped,” he told her, finally looking up at her. He blinked past the rain and time seemed to slow down as he felt his chest flutter at the sight above him. Even as she was drenched, she was very pretty. Not that he didn't think so before, but now was sure something. Water droplets slid down her face, dripping off her soft lips and a blush had spread on her cheeks that he found adorable. Her hair was plastered to the sides of her face and cascaded over her shoulders dramatically. One of her legs was between his and one of her hands was on his chest.</p><p>Her eyes were wide as they blinked at him with long wet eyelashes. He almost couldn’t look away, stuck in his thoughts. To him in the moment, she was just beautiful being framed by the rain above them. He wasn't exactly sure what he was doing as he looked over her face. Suddenly, her lips began moving and it took him a moment to realize she was talking.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I said thank you for catching me. You, uh, you can let go of me now," she said gesturing to his arms around her. He cleared his throat then dropped his arms and finally looked away.</p><p>“Right! Sorry. It’s no problem. You ok?”</p><p>“I’m fine. Are you?” she asked while getting onto her knees. He followed suit by sitting up fully.</p><p>“Just peachy. It’s not every day that a pretty girl falls into my arms,” he smirked. The girl was so glad it was dark, ‘cause she blushed really badly at that. If she wasn’t already pink, she was now red. God was she a sucker for cheesy shit like that. Once she was up, she held out a hand for him to take, which he took and was helped up onto his feet.</p><p>“Ha ha. Very funny, Leon. If I didn’t know better, I would think you were flirting with me,” she teased as she fixed herself up. She was very glad now that he had given her the pads for her knees and elbows. Her joints might have taken a beating from the fall. Her companion smiled as he fixed his vest then reached up and pushed some of her hair behind her ear.</p><p>“Well...maybe I am,” he said before turning and walking away leaving her speechless. Her mind was going at a million miles per minute and her face felt so hot, she swore she could see steam. Yeah, they may have been flirting all throughout the night, but it wasn’t really a spoken thing. Frankly, she thought they were just getting along really well, even though she secretly hoped he was flirting back too. Him saying it out loud caught her off guard. She watched as he took out his gun then turned to her, realizing she wasn’t behind him. “You coming?” </p><p>She blinked back to reality, closing her mouth that she didn’t realize had fallen open till now. Swallowing nervously, she walked over to him, grabbing her hammer on the way and nodded. What she didn’t know was that his face was just as pink. When she reached him, he began leading the way across the courtyard, past the fire, to a staircase. It looked like it led to another smaller building just across the way.</p><p>“That must be the boiler room," he pointed as he began descending down. She followed him, but said nothing, still slightly in shock. Once at the foot of the stairs, he turned to her with a nervous expression. “You ok? Did I…?”</p><p>She opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by the sound of a door being jiggled in its frame. The survivors looked over at the boiler room door and saw that it looked like someone was trying to get out. They took a step closer only for it to slam open and a pair of zombies came stumbling out. Leon quickly took action and began shooting, Veronica falling suit quickly. </p><p>Once the two zombies were down, the pair made their way inside the boiler room. It was a small building with two rooms. The first room held all the machinery for the boilers and in it was another ink ribbon lying on a table. It was for the typewriter in the other room which held a desk, a whiteboard, and another black box. On the whiteboard was a key taped to it and circled with a marker. A note next to it was written, ‘Someone lose a key?’</p><p>Veronica took it off and examined it. It had a green spade on one end, similar to the other shaped keys. Taking out her map, she looked through it and found the only doors they had found with the shape. One in the first hallway they went through and the other down the stairs from the Chief’s office. </p><p>“Yes! We got it! The only other key we don’t have is the red heart. That and we lost the blue spade one,” she pointed out as she put her map away. Leon raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“We did?”</p><p>“Yeah. I accidentally gave it to you when we were trying to get away from the licker. It’s now somewhere in the hallway that you threw it in,” she said, rubbing her neck.</p><p>“Oh. I didn’t even notice! Well, that’s alright! I haven’t seen any other doors with it anyways. We probably don’t need it anymore.”</p><p>“I hope not. Well, it looks like there’s nothing else here. Let’s head back and try to figure out how to get inside.” She was about to reach the door when Leon reached out to stop her.</p><p>“Wait!” She turned and blinked at him in slight surprise.</p><p>“What’s wrong?”</p><p>“Did...Did I go too far? Earlier?”</p><p>“You mean with the flirting?”</p><p>“Yeah. You, uh, kinda got all quiet on me,” he sighed guiltily. “If you’re uncomfortable with it, I can always just st-.” He was suddenly interrupted by the brunette leaning over to him and pecking him softly on his cheek. She pulled back and smiled at his shocked expression.</p><p>“Leon, it’s fine! I was just surprised, is all. If anything,” she reached up and gave his arm a soft squeeze, “the feeling’s mutual.” With that said, she turned and opened the door. With her hand still on the knob, she looked back at his surprised form. “You coming?” A grin spread across his face as he followed her out the door.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With one electronic part in hand, Vee and Leon search on to find the other, but things are never that easy as something big awaits them on the inside.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Back out in the rain, the pair took a look around to try and find a way back inside since there was now no easy way through. On the wall near the boiler room was a lever that was labeled to go either left or right. What it was for, they weren’t sure. The pipe connected to it looked like it led back up to the courtyard they fell into earlier. Before heading up there, they explored the rest of the downstairs and found some more green herbs beneath the stairway. Only this time, they couldn’t help the small smiles they gave each other as they searched.</p><p>Once they were done, they ran back up the stairs to the courtyard. The helicopter was still on fire, but maybe if they could just get past it, they could make it back inside the building via the door leading to it. There was no way out anywhere else since the area was blocked off by a high iron gate. It was either put out the fire or start climbing.</p><p>Taking a look at the crash site, Leon noticed something right above it. It was an open pipe that was connected to a mechanism on the wall near the ladder. He pulled at the lever on it only for the pipe right above it to spout cold water at him instead.</p><p>“Gah!” He jerked away, shaking his drenched hair like a dog. Veronica pushed the lever back up stopping the water flow while biting her lip to keep from laughing. </p><p>“You ok?” He wiped the water away from his eyes and slicked back his hair. Veronica felt a new warmth in her cheeks at his new look. It suited him. Now if only he were wearing an actual suit.</p><p>“Yeah. It’s not like I’m already wet anyways.” He looked up at the pipes and then the fire. “There’s gotta be a way of getting the water to put out the fire. If we can put it out, we can just climb over the copter or something.” Veronica looked back at the staircase in thought.</p><p>“Maybe that lever down by the boiler room was something. I can go run down there real quick and turn it,” she suggested. He followed her gaze then nodded. She quickly ran down to the lever and turned it from the right to the left. As she was climbing the stairs, she shouted to try the water pump. </p><p>The officer pulled the lever and watched as the pipe above the fire spouted a waterfall over the flames. In just a few minutes, the fire was out completely. Before walking inside, Leon noticed a box of handgun ammo on the bench next to the door and took it. <em> What luck! </em></p><p>They opened the door of the hallway to let the smoke drift out and waited. Once they deemed it free of smoke, they walked in and were met immediately with a red herb, which they took before turning the corner. Carefully walking through the hallway, the rounded another corner that led to the helicopter. As they approached it, however, the vehicle began to suddenly move as something on the other side began to pick up via the tail. </p><p>They froze and watched in terror as a giant grey hulk of a man clad in a black leather trench coat shoved the copter into the wall with ease. It cleared the path, but now he stood in the way of them and the rest of the building. It's fedora cover head looked at them with a blank expression then began to stalk towards them with thundering footsteps. Footsteps that sounded like what they had heard from down in the jail. </p><p>Leon aimed his gun at it and got a couple of headshots in, but it only seemed to stun the thing. It stumbled back a bit as another bullet hit it’s head, knocking the hat off and onto the floor. The thing’s giant hand reached up to tap at the empty space before cracking its neck loudly and stalked after them.</p><p>“Jesus Christ! This thing won’t die!” Leon shouted before running back the way they came, Veronica following close behind. The footsteps shook the floor beneath them as they made it outside and shutting the door behind them. </p><p>“What do we do!?”</p><p>“We have to get past it somehow!”</p><p>“How?!” The footsteps were reaching the door.</p><p>“I’ll throw a grenade at it, then we can run past it.” The door slammed open against the wall with a loud bang as the giant bent down to get through the doorway. Seeing the pair, he stalked towards them while Leon grabbed a flash grenade from his waist and pulled the pin. “Shut your eyes!” he shouted. </p><p>He threw the grenade at the giant’s feet and they both shielded their eyes. The grenade went off causing whatever it was to stop and try to recover its eyesight. While it was distracted, the young couple ran past him and into the hallway. Not too far behind, they could hear the monster following them. </p><p>“Better keep moving. We need to get enough space between us and that thing. Where do we hide?” the young officer asked as they reached the main hall.</p><p>“We can’t go to the safe room in the west area. The licker is going to make things difficult for us... Maybe the S.T.A.R.S office?” his companion suggested breathlessly. The monster hadn’t reached the hall just yet, but it was close. </p><p>“Good enough for me!” They reached the library door just as the giant entered the hall from the waiting room. “Go, go, go!” They ran through the library and out to the second-floor hallway. Once they got to the S.T.A.R.S office, they stopped running and silently opened the door. Before he could get in though, Leon ran to the locker room door, opened it and slammed it before getting back. </p><p>They crept into the office and silently closed the door. Hopefully, Leon’s little trick would work. They backed away from the door and stood by the desks near the other side of the room. After seeing what it could do through walls, they were not about to take any chances. Trying to keep their breaths shallow, they listened as the door near the linen room opened and slammed back shut. </p><p>Each thump of the footstep echoed loudly in the hallway as it drew closer and closer. Their hearts thumped loudly in their chest as they waited with bated breath, hoping to god that it wouldn’t find them. It paused just outside the door for a second, their blood running cold as they watched the door with their guns in hand.</p><p>Another second passed before the footsteps began again and made their way down the hall towards the locker rooms. The door was slammed open then shut again before the footsteps fade away. They waited till they were gone completely before finally relaxing. Veronica sagged against a desk as she hung her gun around her shoulders.</p><p>“What was that thing?!” she whispered breathlessly.</p><p>“I don’t know! Did you see the size of it?”</p><p>“It lifted the helicopter like it was nothing!” He paused in thought at her statement.</p><p>“I think that’s the thing that killed Ben. The footsteps, the giant hand, and super strength.”</p><p>“Fuck! What do we do? It’s hard enough getting past lickers and zombies, now we have to avoid this asshole?!”</p><p>“My gun did absolutely nothing! I don’t think we can kill it. I think sneaking around is our only hope against that thing.” As he said that, thumping from the floor above them, caused them to jump. They stopped and listened closely as it walked across the room above them before going through a door. The thumps echoed in different parts of the room while the giant looked for them in the library next to them. After a while, it sounded like it went through the other door leading to the main hall and disappeared.</p><p>“At least we know how to find it,” Veronica said in a low voice. “Maybe as long as we’re quiet and we hide at the first sign of it coming, we should be fine. Let’s avoid licker pathways as much as possible.” Her partner nodded then combed his hand through his hair to calm himself down.</p><p>“So, what now?” Veronica bit her lip as she thought of the objectives in her head.</p><p>“So far, there are two rooms in the building that have the green club doors. Both are on either side of the station. We should somehow find out where that thing is and go to the room, farthest away from it.”</p><p>“How do we do that?” They thought about it for a second, trying to figure out what to do.</p><p>“Either we just carefully look through the library, or…”</p><p>“We make a distraction.”</p><p>“Maybe both. If it’s happily on the other side, we can sneak down to the records room. If it’s still on this side we can create a distraction on a different floor then bolt to the other side.  It’s pretty slow for its size. We can definitely outrun it.”</p><p>They decided to carefully walk out and over to the library. Quietly opening the door to the main hall, they watched as the giant disappeared through the first-floor entryway to their side of the building. They listened as a door opened and slammed shut then crept out into the hall. </p><p>Walking to the other end, they made it to the waiting room without getting noticed and then made their way towards the staircase down to the club door. Everything was still quiet when they got there, which was a good sign. Quickly, but quietly they unlocked the door. </p><p>The room had only one dead body in it and it was slumped on the bookshelf next to the door. It must have been reaching for the exit but didn’t quite make it. After nudging at it a little, they realized it was really dead. At its feet, however, they found another can of gunpowder and made a quick batch of shotgun ammo with it. </p><p>Carefully looking around, there was a giant shattered mirror in between the two rooms that sat next to each other. According to the map, the room they were in was an observation room for the interrogation room on the other side. The mirror must have been a two-way mirror used to observe any interrogations needed for the police. Looking into the adjacent room, they could tell the cause of the mirror shattering was of a charred up dead licker lying on the ground. Something must have killed it already before they got there.</p><p>Leon climbed over into the interrogation room while Veronica searched the room she was in. She found a note that had the code to the safe in the second-floor waiting room and a fancy blue box with red jewels on it. In the middle of them, was an empty slot meant for one such jewel. <em>Red jewels….oh!</em></p><p>She dug through one of her pouches and found the forgotten jewel she had taken from the statue up in the art room. Curiously, she placed the ruby in the slot and watched as the lid clicked open. </p><p>"Well, what do you know?" She called for Leon and showed him her new finding. Opening it, she pulled out a S.T.A.R.S police badge.</p><p>"I'm glad you convinced me to keep the ruby. Turned out to be more useful than we thought...It's a police badge."</p><p>“For S.T.A.R.S. What’s this doing in here for?” he raised an eyebrow. She shrugged as she read the front logo then turned it around. There was a switch just beneath the clip that looked like it could slide up. She pushed it with her thumb and out of the top, popped a USB dongle connected to it.</p><p>“It's also a USB?”</p><p>“We can use that in the S.T.A.R.S. office! Maybe it can open the gate and we can get that extra gun!”</p><p>“Oh fuck yeah!”</p><p>Thumping from somewhere nearby, stopped them in their tracks. The monster’s footsteps seemed to head around in different directions. It was probably on the second floor looking for them. They stood there waiting till it sounded like it was in the main hall on the other side of the wall next to them.</p><p>“We should get it to come back up here, go down the fire escape and run through to the records room. We’ll backtrack since we don’t have the heart key to go through and head up to the S.T.A.R.S. office,” Leon explained.</p><p>“Sounds like a plan. But how do we get its attention?”</p><p>“The simple way.”</p><p>5 minutes later, they were back upstairs creeping through the hallway. Veronica waited by the fire escape door while Leon went into the waiting room. Peeking through the door, he could see the giant heading towards the library. He pushed the door open a smidge more then slammed it closed then waited. After a moment, he could hear the giant’s footsteps heading in his direction. </p><p>Leon sprinted back out into the hallway towards Veronica. He waved her to go through the door then both of them ran down the fire escape. As they tried to run as quietly as possible through the first floor, they could hear the footsteps above them heading towards the fire escape door. Without any problems, they made it through to the main hall and quickly got to the reception area.</p><p>Quietly, they opened the door to the hallway only to freeze at the sound of hissing. There was a licker in there somewhere and they could see a zombie at the window. This was going to be a close one. They couldn’t hear the giant yet, so they had some time to walk through. Passing the closed-off hallway when first walked in, they could see the licker messing with the barricade to figure out what it was. </p><p>It seemed too distracted to notice them as they slipped past it. Halfway through the hall, the footsteps had finally gotten into earshot. They didn’t know where, but they couldn’t focus on it. The zombie at the window finally noticed them and slammed his hands against the glass, but they continued through and unlocked the green club door. </p><p>Inside, they found a room filled with shelves of paperwork. It was a neat freak’s hell if anyone saw how messy each shelf was. They also found a can of gunpowder, a grenade, and the lever to something sitting on a table. Leon immediately recognized what it was for.</p><p>“That’s for the library! We can now use the jack on the bookshelves!”</p><p>As soon as he said that, the footsteps they had been hearing the whole time had grown louder behind the heart door just across from them.<em> It’s coming! </em>They quickly ran to the other door just in time for the giant to walk into the room. Lucky for them, the licker had traveled to the other side of the hall, so they ran back to the main hall without having a problem. They ran through and up the stairs, footsteps thudding not too far behind. </p><p>Passing through the library they got to the S.T.A.R.S. office just in the nick of time. Once again, they waited in silence as the footsteps passed them and disappeared into the locker room. They stopped to catch their breath, tired from all the running. The sooner they get this new part for the jail, the faster they get away from that thing.</p><p>“That thing is merciless on my legs! Christ!” Veronica whispered while sitting in a chair. Her legs burned from all the running they were doing in order to avoid the giant. </p><p>“Tell me about it. Let’s get this gun and go! We have what we need to get up to the clocktower now.” She gave him the USB and watched as he plugged it into the computer. He clicked around for a moment then the door opened with a loud buzz. That was going to attract the monster’s attention. They have to move quickly. </p><p>Inside, Leon picked up the new gun, a Lightning Hawk magnum gun. He told her it would pack a good punch in shooting things better than his handgun. Taking the holster from its locker, he strapped it to his other leg and placed it inside. Veronica was fine with him taking it. It was already enough for her to have just the one gun.</p><p>While he was strapping himself together, Veronica noticed an open envelope with a letter sitting on the bench in front of the gun locker. She picked it up curiously and skimmed over it, recognizing the familiar name signed at the end. She got her partner's attention, holding it up for him to see.</p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>“Didn’t Claire say her brother’s name was Chris?”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“Then it’s from him!” Then she began to read aloud, </p><p>“‘To my bestest S.T.A.R.S. buds, </p><p>How are you all doing in that drab, old station? Hanging in there against old Irons? Me? I just got back from a date with a hot chick. Bet you can guess what we got up to under her extra-large umbrella. Europe is amazing. One month is in no way enough to even scratch the surface. Maybe I’ll extend my vacation for another six months. Barry, don’t even think of coming to join me. Wouldn’t want to make all the cute girls cry, yeah? So you just leave the babes to me. Jill, if Claire tries to contact you, please let her know I’m ok. - Chris Redfield, August 29.' That was just a month ago. That means...”</p><p>“Chris isn’t here. Claire came here for nothing.” The pair looked at each other in disbelief at the situation. </p><p>“God! I hope she’s ok!” </p><p>They left the note on the bench where they found it then walked back into the office. Looking around, Leon noticed a blank piece of paper and a pen sitting on a desk, so he grabbed it and began writing.</p><p>“What are you doing?”</p><p>“I’m leaving a note for Claire. If she’s still alive, she needs to know what we found.”</p><p>She watched him finish his note then left it on a cart near the trophy shelf. Walking to the door, they stopped and listened for any footsteps, hearing none surprisingly. After a couple of minutes, they realized he was probably on the other side of the building. That didn’t stop them from staying quiet through the hallways. </p><p>They made it to the library in no time and quickly fixed the jack. With a little elbow grease, they lowered the propped up bookshelf with a loud thud. They had to work quickly now, the giant might have heard them. They each took a bookshelf on either side and, with a heave, they shoved the three together and moved them in a position to create a bridge above them.</p><p>There was a ladder next to them, so they climbed up it and crossed the bookshelf bridge to the door. Opening it, the third floor was dark, barely lit from the lights of the main hall below them and the skylight above them. Looking over the railing they could see the giant walking up the stairs to the second floor. There wasn’t much time. </p><p>The survivors crept across the walkway and found two zombies wandering around. At this point, these things were mere flies compared to literally anything else. Sneaking up behind one, Veronica used her hammer to take it out stealthily while Leon shot at the other. </p><p>They could hear the footsteps growing louder, so the two quietly got into the clocktower and didn’t move. They listened as the door to the third floor slammed open and the heavy steps drew closer. It paused in the middle of the hallway before walking away to the other side of the floor.</p><p>However, they didn’t fade away like they wanted because shortly after, it came back around. They drew their guns and aimed at the door ready to shoot, but the door didn’t open. Instead, the footsteps went back towards the library and the door shut, to their relief. Eventually, the footsteps were gone.</p><p>“Why can’t that Mr. X looking motherfucker just leave us alone?!” Veronica grumbled to herself annoyingly.</p><p>‘“Mr. X?”</p><p>“Yeah, I don’t know. I just hate that thing and it’s ugly, grey shriveled up face. It sounded like a good enough insult, but now I think I’m just gonna call it that.” Leon chuckled softly.</p><p>“It fits pretty well, so I guess I will too. Better than calling him the giant.”</p><p>“Let’s hurry and get this thing so we can get the fuck out of here!”</p><p>Turning around, they were immediately met with an issue. Hanging in the middle of the room was the giant bell that was supposed to go off every hour and it was contained in an iron bar cage. Clearly construction was being done, but the kicker was, the box of parts that they needed was up by the bell and out of reach. </p><p>“Damn, let’s try and see if we can get up there,” Leon said as he began looking around.  Close by there was a machine that looked like it was missing a gear and it looked like it connected to a set of stairs that was folded up on the second floor. They were going to need something to get those down and it probably had something to do with the machine.</p><p>Wandering around, they found a note informing them of the construction and another machine that required a smaller component. <em> Where the hell are we going to find these things? We’ve looked everywhere! </em>Veronica thought to herself. </p><p>Through the maze of both construction and bookshelves, they found a door leading to a small cramped hallway. Around the bend, it was cut off by a blockade that they recognized as the other side to the one where they found the note about lickers. </p><p>On a random box, there was a large black can of gunpowder that said it was the large version of the regular gunpowder. It would make a little more extra ammo with whatever other one is combined with it. They decided to make more ammo for Leon’s handgun since he was running low.</p><p>Back in the clocktower, they felt a little stumped at what to do. There was clearly something they needed to get the ladder down, but what? Veronica looked at the machine at its composition of gears and...gears. She gasped suddenly getting the idea.</p><p>“The gear!”</p><p>“What gear?”</p><p>“The big one we found in the storage room! We left it there, but it has to fit here!”</p><p>“That’s right! We did! That room is just across the way! Great thinking, Vee!”</p><p>The two crept out quietly to the other side of the floor, watching as Mr. X wandered the first floor still searching for them. Getting to the door, they realized it was locked via an outside lock, which was why they couldn’t get out this way before. They unlocked it, went in, and grabbed the gear that still sat where they left it.</p><p>Quickly they made their way back and put the gear in the machine. The gears began turning then the ladder loudly creaked as it unfolded and set down for them to climb. The machine stopped moving, so they quickly ran up the stairs. This was making enough noise as it was, they needed to hurry!</p><p>The bell and the box of parts were hung too low to reach and was enclosed in its metal cage. They realized they had to get the bell to move. On the other side of the floor was the mechanics of the clock itself. The clock face stuck a minute to three. In it was a small metal gear that looked like it didn’t quite belong. Leon pulled it out and looked back at the missing slot. It required something much bigger. </p><p>“The other gear! Stay right here!” he said running down the stairs. He put the small gear in the other machine they found and it started to do its magic. Then he went to the stair mechanism and pulled out the large gear. Taking it upstairs, he put into the clock and suddenly, the clock was brought back to life. </p><p>The minute hand ticked to the twelve and the two watched as the bell began to move. It chimed loudly causing both of them to hastily cover their ears. The bell rang and thrashed around in its cage causing all of it to fall apart and fall onto the floor with a loud crash. Now they really didn’t have a lot of time. </p><p>“Hope I don’t have to write a report on this,” Leon said sarcastically causing Veronica to lightly punched his arm at such a bad joke. </p><p>Running downstairs, they found the box of parts and opened it to find the cube that they needed. In the room next to them, footsteps had begun to grow louder which signaled their departure. They ran out of the room and headed toward the east side of the building. All they had to do was make it down to the parking garage and get that parking permit.</p><p>Loud footsteps followed as they sprinted down the stairs and around hallways. Their legs burned as they made it to the first floor and towards the stairs leading to the garage. They didn’t bother checking the outside, not with Mr. X on their tail. Once in the parking garage, it felt like it was filled with more zombie dogs.</p><p>They dodged and weaved past them, shooting as they went till they reached the jail cell door. Once inside, they waited for a moment and didn’t hear anything besides the dogs scratching at the door. </p><p>“Think he’s still up there?” Veronica wheezed, leaning against the counter trying to catch her breath.</p><p>“I sure hope so,” her companion panted next to her. After taking a minute, they jogged back over to Ben’s cell and put the two cubes into the lock. Nothing happened at first, so Veronica started twisting things around.</p><p>“It feels like a puzzle,” she told him as she maneuvered the parts carefully. He watched impressed as her fingers put the cubes in places that seemed to light the thing up. Whatever she was doing, it was working.</p><p>“Seems to be a lot of those around here.”</p><p>“Yeah, but at least I like to do them!” </p><p>“Puzzles are fun unless you’re in a zombie outbreak.”</p><p>“Welp, you got me there! This isn’t exactly your run of the mill grandma’s 1000 piece puzzle. I have a feeling I’ll be doing a lot of those when we get out of here to deal with my PTSD.”</p><p>“Mind if I join you when you do?” She turned her head to smile at him.</p><p>“By all means, please do!” She turned back and finally put the last block in the right position. The box beeped and the jail cell door successfully slid open with a loud clang. They walked in carefully, looking around at Ben’s cell for anything he had left behind. </p><p>Veronica avoided looking at his body and opted for the note that was left on his desk. Leon, however, knelt down next to Ben and looked over the gory remains. He groaned in disgust as he reached out to grab the keycard when something caught his eye.</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>In Ben’s coat pocket, was a tape recorder. Curiously, Leon pulled it out and held it up for the both of them to hear. It was Ben talking and it sounded like he was interviewing someone.</p><p>“But that doesn’t explain the rumors about the orphanage. I-I just find it way too coincidental Umbrella’s one of the benefactors,” Ben stated, voice muffled through the small speaker.</p><p>“You told me this interview was about the new scholarship Umbrella set up,” a lady’s voice replied. Ben chuckled at her response. </p><p>“Come on, Annette. Nobody cares about that. They want to know about the G-Virus and the-.”</p><p>“Where did you hear about this?” She began to sound upset.</p><p>“-and that big fucking sinkhole in the city, which, by the way, rumor has it, goes straight to your underground lab.”</p><p>“Lab?” Leon questioned, looking up at his partner who was listening intently. </p><p>“Now, are you going to talk to me or are you-,” Ben continued.</p><p>“This interview is over,” this Annette lady cut him off and it sounded like she had left. Ben seemed to pause for a moment before muttering under his breath:</p><p>“Bitch.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With the grey giant on their tail, Leon and Veronica make it to the jail cell to finally escape the station. Meeting back up with Ada, however, the two realize their journey was far from over.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The tape ended there. Leon scoffed softly as he set the recorder in one of his pockets and grabbed the keycard from Ben's lanyard. He hummed curiously as he walked over to Veronica.</p><p>“What are they after?” he thought aloud.</p><p>“I don’t know! What's that G-Virus thing they were talking about?”</p><p>“No idea. Maybe Ada knows if it has to do with her investigation.”</p><p>“We’ll have to ask when we see her. Now that we have the keycard and all.”</p><p>“Yeah. What’s that you got there?” he nodded to the paper in her hand.</p><p>“It’s a memo that Ben wrote. ‘The station’s swarming with monsters. Even here I can hear their cries. But it’s not the zombies I’m afraid of. Codename: Tyrant. The ultimate bioweapon, developed by those bastards in the utmost secrecy. To think that that thing might be wandering around here. Chances are they’ve ordered it to wipe out the witnesses.’” She paused before looking back up at her friend with worry in her eyes. “My god! Leon, that thing is literally out to kill us!”</p><p>“A bioweapon? Who are these people?!”</p><p>“I don’t know, but I don’t want this ‘Tyrant’ thing to get us. Let’s go!” Setting down the paper and picking up a first aid spray, they quickly made their way out of the cell only for all of the other cells to start opening. An alarm started blaring and the hordes of zombies that were stuck in the cells were unleashed.</p><p>“That’s not good.”</p><p>They ran over to a switch and pulled it, unlocking a door that led them a separate way from the cells. Just as they rounded the corner, however, Mr. X, the Tyrant, came stopping towards them. </p><p>“Gimme a break,” Leon grumbled as they backed away. It took a swing at them when it got close, arm whizzing over their heads. They were able to dodge it in time and ran around either side of it. They were about to reach the exit when the zombies began walking toward them. “Grenade!” he shouted before tossing a flash grenade at the horde.</p><p>It went off, stunning the zombies long enough for the couple to bulldoze through them to the exit. They ran out into the garage, relieved to see no dogs around, but didn’t make it far as the Tyrant busted through the concrete wall in front of them. Before either of them could run away, it reached out and grabbed the both of them with its giant hands. One enclosing around Leon’s neck and the other lifting Veronica by the front of her shirt. It held them high above the ground and its expression remained neutral even as they tried to fight him off. It's eyes were grey and blank even as it stared at them. </p><p>“Let me go!” she cried trying to kick at it, her attempts futile. “Let go you ugly grey asshole!” She could hear Leon choking next to her, his hands trying desperately to pry the giant ones away from his neck.</p><p>Suddenly, an engine roared and car lights flashed on them. They all turned their heads to the giant S.W.A.T. car that sped towards them, tires squealing against the pavement. The Tyrant threw the survivors to the side to try and stop the truck only to be plowed right back into the wall. </p><p>Veronica sat up quickly and crawled over to Leon who was coughing and gasping for air. She sat him up to help him breathe and watched as a familiar woman climbed out of the driver’s side of the truck. She looked unscathed despite the crash she had just pulled off.</p><p>“Ada!” they both said in unison. She frowned at them then began to walk away.</p><p>“This is getting old...Saving your asses- that’s twice,” she pointed at them. The pair got onto their feet, the young girl helping her partner up, then followed her.</p><p>“Thank you for that,” Veronica told the agent, only getting a small nod in return. They caught up to her realizing she was heading towards the shutter.</p><p>“I didn’t realize you were keeping score,” Leon retorted at the agent. Ada spun angrily to face him.</p><p>“Look, this isn’t a game!” The sound of metal scraping from the truck stopped them, the two taking out their guns in preparation for anything. They weren’t surprised that it was still alive.</p><p>“You gotta be kidding me,” he hissed.</p><p>“Nothing dies down here,” Ada groaned while taking out something from her pocket. The truck was just beginning to be pushed forward when it suddenly burst into flames. The couple looked over at Ada as she closed a device in her hand before putting it away. <em> Impressive! </em> She looked over at the pair.</p><p>“I take it you guys have the key card?”</p><p>“Yeah, and this,” the officer replied while taking out Ben’s recorder. He tossed it over to her which she caught easily. “I was hoping you could explain what’s on it.” She looked at it then at him with a small shrug.</p><p>“Maybe," she paused. "After I hear it. Let’s get out of here,” she said while heading towards the exit. Veronica and Leon looked at each other, at the flame engulfed truck then followed the agent. “We might want to open the shutter.”</p><p>Leon nodded and put the key card into the machine. It beeped as it accepted the card then the shutter began to slowly rise up. The trio waited till it rose high enough to crouch under then walked out into the deserted city street. It felt simultaneously freeing and frightening being out in the open. </p><p>The city's lights were still on, but it was void of any life. Under normal circumstances, the place would've been nice to walk through on a summer evening. As they walked, Ada took a listen to the recorder while making a right at the top of the driveway. </p><p>One side of the street was blocked off by a large blockade of vehicles and trash. The lonely road was dotted with abandoned cars that reflected the streetlights on its metal hoods. The rain lightened up a little bit and there didn’t seem to be any zombies or monsters wandering around, much to their relief. Once Ada was done listening, she sighed and set the recorder in her pocket.</p><p>“Is that the intel you needed?” Leon asked.</p><p>“Unfortunately, no. Ben, didn’t come through.”</p><p>“Well, what exactly are you looking for?”</p><p>“More info on the people responsible for this mess.”</p><p>“And who would that be?” Veronica asked curiously.</p><p>“I’m afraid I can’t say. Not yet at least.” She looked ahead then began briskly walking towards the end of the street. The road was cut off, leaving only an exposed construction site of pipes and a deep gorge in its wake. Looking down into it, she thought for a moment before turning her head to the building to their left.</p><p>“Road’s out...Going through that gun shop looks like the only way,” she pointed out as she walked towards it. It looked like it was the only store left with a lit sign reading, ‘Gun Shop Kendo’ with a gun symbol in the front. Following the agent to the door, the other two looked at each other and shrugged unsure of what to do as she knelt down and began to pick the lock.</p><p>With a click, she unlocked it then stood up to push the doors open wide. The room was littered with garbage and knocked over shelves. It looked like the city ransacked the place when the outbreak happened. Not that they could blame them.</p><p>“What a mess,” the agent mumbled while walking in and crouching down to search for supplies. The other two brunettes followed suit by walking around the mostly empty store looking for anything useful. Leon found a long barrel for a shotgun and quickly added it to their own.</p><p>“This will help let you shoot 4 more bullets and it will help make each shot extra powerful,” he explained as he handed Veronica back the gun.</p><p>“Great! Thank you,” she smiled as she added the extra bullets in the gun. They also found another grenade and more handgun ammo lying around, both for Leon to take. There was also a note on a register that was addressed to the owner of the shop by a lady named Jill. They didn’t know if it was the same Jill from Chris’ letter back at the station, but they didn’t think too much about it since it was sad to think that this person went through this hell. They both began walking towards the back area that led outside when a shotgun was suddenly pressed against Leon's shoulder.</p><p>“Don’t move,” a man in a yellow plaid shirt warned him. His face was scratched up and his hands looked like they had been badly singed. Veronica raised her gun immediately in protective mode while trying to remain calm even though her heart was beating at a million miles per minute. The man wavered his aim between the two then decided to keep it on the officer. Leon froze and remained calm during the whole ordeal.</p><p>“Vee, don’t shoot," he told her before addressing the stranger. "We're not going to hurt you-."</p><p>“I said DON’T MOVE!”</p><p>“We’re just passing through. I’m going to ask you to lower that weapon.”</p><p>“Like hell you are! You’re going to turn around, and go right back out the way you came in.”</p><p>“And go where exactly?!” Veronica scoffed, not taking her eyes or her gun off of him.</p><p>“Anywhere but here,” he growled. Leon glanced over the man's shoulder and was surprised to see a little girl standing in a doorway to the back part of the shop. Her hair was a mess, her breathing was wheezy and there was blood around the collar of her blue and white striped shirt. Even in the darkness, he could tell something wasn’t right.</p><p>“I think your daughter needs help, sir.” The man cocked his gun and pressed closer only for Veronica to do the same in warning. He glanced at her then at Leon, slightly backing away.</p><p>“Don’t tell me how to deal with my daughter.”</p><p>“Drop it!” Ada demanded, suddenly walking into view with her handgun aimed at the man. When he went to aim his gun her way, Leon took out his. He was outgunned now for sure. He continued to wave his gun between the three of them as his daughter began walking towards them with a small limp. Seeing her coming forward, Ada switched her aim over to the young girl and began to walk toward her. The man jumped in front of her waving his hand to stop her.</p><p>“No! Wait!”</p><p>“Step aside. We need to terminate her before she turns,” she told him coldly.</p><p>“‘Terminate’? That’s my fucking daughter!” Looking at the kid, the trio could see one of her eyes was white, but the other remained brown. She hadn’t fully turned yet. Veronica and Leon looked at each other with sad eyes then nodded before lowering their weapons. He turned to Ada and waved his hand for her to do the same.</p><p>“Ada...Just let them be.” She looked at him with a neutral expression before lowering her gun. The man kept his gun raised and his eyes on them.</p><p>“Emma, sweetheart, I told you to stay put,” he called out to behind him. She wheezed loudly before taking another step.</p><p>“Da...ddy?” she spoke, voice barely a whisper. He turned and walked over to her, kneeling down beside her.</p><p>“Yeah, Emmie. Daddy’s here. I’m here, ok?” he tried reassuring her as he pulled her into a one-sided hug. The girl’s arms were lifeless at her sides. It was hard to watch. Leon took a step forward, his expression softening. Veronica could tell that he wanted to help, but he didn’t know how. </p><p>“Those fuckin’ things outside...Look what they did to us,” the stranger sniffled before turning his head to look up at Leon. “You’re a cop. You’re supposed to know something-how did this happen!? HUH!?” The only one who could have any possible answer was Ada. The other two looked at her almost expectantly, but she said nothing. “She was our sweet little angel.”</p><p>“Mo-mmy?” Emma wheezed. Her father turned the girl to face him with tears running down his face. </p><p>“Mommy’s sleeping, honey, ok? And I’m gonna put you to bed too, ok?... Emma.” You could see at the moment that he realized that this was the end. It was enough for Veronica’s eyes to well up and her bottom lip to quiver. It made her miss her own dad. </p><p>He stood back up and began to lift her up into his arms as she groaned in pain. Everyone else took a few steps forward watching as he carried her back to the open door where she came from. Then he turned to them visibly upset.</p><p>“Just go...Just give us some privacy,” was the last thing he said before slamming the door closed. They all stood there in the rain for a moment watching the door intently.</p><p>“You know, it’s one thing to keep the truth from us!” Leon exclaimed while turning to Ada. “But why him?” He questioned as he gestured to the door. Just after he said this, there was the sound of a gun cocking and a single gunshot coming from where the man disappeared. They all looked back at the door in realization as to what happened, almost expecting a second shot to happen. But it never came. Angry at the situation and determined to bring justice to the city, Leon turned back to Ada.</p><p>“I want to find out what’s happening here. And stop whoever’s behind it. Helping people like them,” he pointed back at the door, “that’s why I joined the force.” Veronica watched in awe as he confronted Ada. She found his unrelenting care for people admirable and at that moment, she knew she fell for him. </p><p>She was just as upset at the entire situation, and if she could find out who did this to the city, including her best friend, she wanted in. She didn’t know if they could save everyone, but she was damn well willing to try. He gave her the hope and determination to try to survive this and she'll be damned if anyone was going to stop her. As long as she was by his side and with Ada’s help, she felt like it was possible. The F.B.I. agent walked forward and stood in front of Leon, seemingly interested in his help.</p><p>“My mission is to take down Umbrella’s entire operation. We may not make it out,” she told him.</p><p>“Whatever it takes to save this city...count me in,” he replied without hesitation. Veronica walked forward filled with determination.</p><p>“I’m in too.” He looked over at her, surprised by her action. His eyebrows furrowed with concern.</p><p>“Vee, you don’t have to do this. You can still make it out of here!”</p><p>“I’m not about to let you two go through this alone. You’re my partner, Leon. We gotta stick together. I have your back!” She looked over at Ada. “Is that alright with you?”</p><p>“Fine by me, but I did warn you. <em> Both </em> of you.”</p><p>“I understand.” Leon placed a hand on Veronica’s arm.</p><p>“Are you sure you want to do this?” She touched his hand with her own.</p><p>“Positive. I’m not leaving this city without you,” she affirmed before holding out her fist. He smiled softly and fist-bumped her. Despite being worried as hell for her, he was happy to see her stay. Her courageousness was there from the beginning and it strengthened his bond with her even more now.</p><p>“Then let’s go. We have a city to save.” The trio took one last look at the door before turning to a small gate that led out onto a different path into the city. Ada led the way with the pair trailing behind her. Despite their declarations of courage, they felt nervous at what was to come but pushed the feeling down as much as they could. They had to get through this together!</p><p>“So, who exactly did you say we’re taking down?” Veronica asked while brushing the rain from her eyes.</p><p>“Heard of the Umbrella Corporation?” They nodded. “They’re a pharmaceutical company secretly making bioweapons. They have a virus- it turns people into indestructible monsters.” As if by fate, they reached a courtyard and looked up to see a billboard for Umbrella. It pictured the company as happy and picturesque, but Ada's explanation really made it look as fake as can be.</p><p>“That explains the horrible things we’ve seen,” Leon replied.</p><p>“Like Mr. X and that thing we fought down in the basement,” Veronica added. At the edge of the courtyard, they used the construction walkways leading into the gorge towards their destination.</p><p>“And that’s why I’m looking for Annette Birkin. She’s the one at Umbrella responsible for unleashing the virus. I’m going to bring her down." They jumped down from a high landing to another walkway that ended at a large sewer entrance. “This is how we get to Annette.”</p><p>“Why am I not surprised?" Veronica sighed.</p><p>“Based on what you’ve said, the sewer seems fitting,” Leon said as they peered into the hole. It was dimly lit and the floor had been covered with sewage and broken piping. Clearly work was being done on the inside.</p><p>“Well said. After you,” the agent gestured.</p><p>“Gee, thanks,” he replied sarcastically as he walked in first. His partner followed behind him while Ada stayed in the back. They had walked down a good distance till they reached a fork in the road, with one way being blocked by its destructed pathway. “Can’t imagine a real scientist being down here."</p><p>“According to HQ...this leads right into Umbrella’s secret facility,” Ada explained as they turned down the path to the right.</p><p>“Come on. Sewers are run by the city,” he retorted in disbelief. “How could they have a facility...without the authorities knowing?”</p><p>“Welcome to corporate America. Umbrella’s controlled Raccoon City for years.”</p><p>“Shocking really,” Veronica grumbled, stepping over a mound of sewage. They continued down the sewer drain, lights growing dimmer with each passing minute. “God, this place just gets worse and worse, doesn’t it?”</p><p>“Feels like it, huh? I don’t think I’ll be able to trust my own plumbing system for a while after this,” Leon replied.</p><p>“Same here.”</p><p>They turned left at a corner and was about to reach another entryway when suddenly, there was a loud rumbling from somewhere on the surface above. It shook the room around them, dust crumbling down from the ceiling eerily.</p><p>“Jesus… That an earthquake?” the officer questioned worriedly. The shaking stopped, much to their relief, but kept them on edge.</p><p>"I sure as hell hope so,” Ada replied.</p><p>“I don’t like the way that you said that,” the other girl responded as she looked up at the ceiling.</p><p>Turning down a dark corridor, they could only see with their flashlights and with a light that glowed through the iron gate at the other end. As they drew near it, something large, that they thought was a giant mound of garbage in front of it, suddenly moved with thundering footsteps and a loud roar. The group froze as they watched whatever it was disappear on the other side of the gate. Leon turned to the agent with a look of fear and disbelief on his face.</p><p>“What the hell!?” She merely looked at him with a neutral expression.</p><p>“Stay sharp! God only knows what’s down here.” Veronica turned with a similar look to Leon’s.</p><p>“Seriously?! Why would you say it like that?!” Ada only shrugged then nodded the pair to move forward. They looked at each other in disbelief but continued walking nonetheless. Going through another room, they carefully walked out into the other side of the gate, finding it empty, but seriously damaged on the other end. Whatever was there, had crashed through the wall and disappeared into the darkness. </p><p>“Where did it go?” Veronica inquired as they passed the hole and moved forward to descend a staircase. </p><p>“Hopefully far away from here,” the agent sighed. The stairs led them to a concrete hallway full of construction. Halfway through another rumbling occurred, this time it sounded like an explosion went off somewhere on the surface.</p><p>“Again!?”</p><p>“I really don’t like this,” Veronica whispered.</p><p>“It’s not too late to turn back, you guys.”</p><p>“No chance. You’re stuck with us to the end,” Leon affirmed, Veronica nodding alongside him. Going through an entryway, they crossed along a metal catwalk, but unfortunately, it dropped off down into sewage-filled waters. Piles of garbage lined the walls and the water ran a putrid dark greyish green. The air smelled of mold, rotten garbage, and shit. Everyone in the room tried desperately not to gag.</p><p>The pair of survivors looked back at the agent with a look of disgust. To say they all were not excited to get down there was an understatement. She merely gestured them to continue. They glanced at each other one last time before Leon decided he would go first. He crouched down and jumped over the edge. The water only reached his thighs, but that didn’t stop it from splashing in his face.</p><p>“Ugh! You sure this is the right way?” he asked while wiping his face and looking up at the girls. They peered over the edge at him with similar disgusted faces.</p><p>“Unfortunately,” Ada responded. Veronica crouched down, intending to go next, but was stopped by a loud booming coming from somewhere in the sewer line. Leon held up his hand at them.</p><p>“Wait there.” With each loud thud, the room and the water shook. He warily walked towards the source of the noise, waiting for something to happen, when suddenly, out of the wall, came a ginormous alligator snapping its giant jaws hungrily against the walls. It was almost as big as the tunnel they were in and it was angry. The moment it saw Leon, it began to charge at him.</p><p>“Jesus Christ!”</p><p>“LEON! RUN!”</p><p>“GET OUT OF THERE!”</p><p>The girls watched in horror as Leon made a run for it, the alligator not too far behind. They could barely make out the “HOLY SHIT!” Leon shouted over the sound of the roaring. <em> How is he possibly going to survive this!? </em> </p><p>“We have to go after them!” Veronica was about to jump but was stopped by Ada’s hand on her shoulder. </p><p>“We need to find another way! C’mon!” The brunette followed the agent back the way they came and through some passageways that they didn’t notice before, all while following the sewer line from where they could see. As they ran, a loud explosion coming from a room not too far ahead caught their attention. <em> Please don’t be dead! </em>As they neared the doorway, they could hear Leon’s voice.</p><p>“Chew on that...you overgrown son of a bitch.” <em> He’s alive! </em> Running through the door, they looked over the catwalk to see him trying to catch his breath. Floating in the filthy water behind him was a giant chunk of what was left of the alligator. Right above it on the slope was a busted gas pipe and they simply put two and two together on what had happened. Veronica couldn't help but smile as relief filled her being seeing her friend alive down there.</p><p>“Leon, up here!” Ada called, catching his attention. At the end of the catwalk, she let down a ladder for him to climb.</p><p>“What the hell was-?”</p><p>“Just get up here!” As soon as he made it to the top, Ada began to walk away, but Veronica couldn’t help but wait for him. The moment he was safe, she tackled him into a tight hug.</p><p>“You’re alive!” she said, her voice muffled into his shoulder. His arms wound themselves around her and squeezed, careful not to touch the middle of her back.</p><p>“I’m ok, Vee. I’m ok.” </p><p>"Oh! And you smell," she pulled back with a crinkle to her nose. He merely shrugged with a tired smile. </p><p>"I had to run through a lot of garbage. A LOT of garbage." She opened her mouth to say something when someone cleared their throat from behind them. Ada was watching them at the entryway, growing a little impatient.</p><p>“Sorry to interrupt you two love birds, but we have a mission to finish.” The two survivors dropped their arms with a light blush in their cheeks before catching up to her.</p><p>“Sorry,” Veronica muttered. </p><p>“Can’t say I didn’t warn you,” Ada said with a nod to Leon as they crossed the threshold into the hallway. Leon grew agitated at her tone.</p><p>“You said the virus turned people into monsters, not reptiles.”</p><p>“Fair point. I’m just impressed you made it in one piece.” Leon didn’t respond as they turned down another hallway full of construction tools. At the end of it was an elevator, still working by the looks of it. Ada looked at it curiously then walked in, the other two following suit. With a push of a button, the doors closed and the car began to slowly descend.</p><p>“So let me get this straight: Umbrella sells monsters like that to who? Our military? Somebody else’s?” the young man inquired.</p><p>“They don’t sell the monsters, they sell the viruses that make them. And Annette is who makes the viruses.” Ada looked up at him, her expression entirely serious. “Scary as that alligator was...Annette is far more dangerous.” With that said, the elevator stopped and opened its gate. Leon carefully walked out first into a room full of pipes and electric machines.</p><p>They passed through it and then another room until they reached a metal door. As they grew closer, they could hear a lady’s voice talking on the other side. Leon peeked it open to find a blonde woman crouching over a dead body. She was writing something in a small handbook as if she was studying the corpse.</p><p>“Definitely William’s handiwork,” they could hear her mutter to herself. Opening the door for the girls behind him, he walked forward and raised his gun at the stranger.</p><p>“Identify yourself!” The lady looked up at him annoyed, but not too bothered if anything she ignored him. She was wearing a white lab coat over a red blouse and white pants and her hair was lying over her shoulder in a braid. She looked like a scientist. Ada walked in with her gun out, Veronica following suit behind her.</p><p>“Annette Birkin.” The other pair looked at her in surprise. <em> This was Annette? </em></p><p>“She’s who we’re looking for?” Leon asked. </p><p>“Not much time,” the scientist muttered as she stood back up, her gaze still on the zombie. “Need to dispose of it.” Ada stalked forward, the other two watching cluelessly but with guns still aimed.</p><p>“We’re here for the G-Virus!”At Ada’s statement, Annette finally looked up and scoffed.</p><p>“That’s not going to happen.”</p><p>“I’m warning you, doctor!”</p><p>“Oh yeah?” Without tearing her gaze away, Annette pulled out a lighter and tossed it onto the dead body on the floor. The corpse immediately ignited into flames as she made a run for it.</p><p>“Hey!” the young man tried to say, but Ada beat him to it and began to run after Annette.</p><p>“STOP!” The scientist turned a corner and as soon as Ada was in eyesight of it, gunshots went off stopping her in her tracks. </p><p>“ADA!” Leon ran at the agent and tackled her down to the other side of the hallway. He grunted in pain as he hit the ground, blood beginning to pool on the concrete. He was hit!</p><p>“LEON!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The trio of survivors had finally found Annette but was no expecting her to fight back.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I am no medical professional I am once again making shit up.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Veronica ran over to them, blood running cold at the sight of her friend being shot. The gunfire had stopped as soon as the pair hit the floor since Annette was trying to make her escape. Kneeling at his side, the brunette watched the crimson spill from his shoulder so she began to quickly pull off her elbow pads and her windbreaker. </p><p>She pressed the jacket to his shoulder, unsure of what to do, but knowing she had to stop the bleeding somehow. Leon hissed in pain, eyes shutting tightly at the pressure put on it. You could tell he was trying to stay conscious but was losing the battle quickly. She could barely hear a mechanical door starting to close off Annette’s exit while Ada tried to shoot at her. But it was all white noise in the background. All she could focus on was the man bleeding out on the floor.</p><p>“You’ll never get the G-Virus!” Annette screamed at them before running away, the giant door shutting behind her. Ada stood up, eyes still focused on where Annette disappeared.</p><p>“Didn’t expect that from a scientist.” After a particularly loud grunt from Leon, Ada finally looked down and knelt at his side. “Leon.” </p><p>“Forget about me...Just go...Stop her before she gets away,” was all he could say before finally passing out. She looked over at the doorway then stood up.</p><p>"Are you actually going to go?!" Ada looked down at the young girl with a nod.</p><p>"You heard him. I have to go after her before she gets away! You can take it from here." Veronica only shook her head, eyes brimming with tears.</p><p>"Please don't leave us! I need your help!"</p><p>“But Annette-.”</p><p>"Ada, I don't know what to do! I 've never dealt with bullet wounds before. You can't just leave him like this, please!" Veronica pleaded, hot tears falling down her cheeks. The agent looked at her and Leon then to where Annette disappeared then back again. </p><p>Despite being not much older than they were, she had to remember that she had more experience with this type of stuff. Not to mention, Leon did just save her life. She groaned then began taking off her coat and laying it at Leon’s feet, revealing the red satin cocktail dress that hugged her figure. A cute black bralette covered her chest from the low neckline the dress had and it matched the black choker around her neck.</p><p>It shocked Veronica, mainly because it was such an out of place outfit for not only an F.B.I. agent, but for someone going through a zombie outbreak. That and, now with her sunglasses removed, she could now see that Ada was a beautiful woman.</p><p>"Fine. I'll help, but first I’m going to need you to calm down." </p><p>The brunette watched as she knelt back down and began digging through her trenchcoat pockets for a roll of gauze and small first aid kit. As she opened it for a pair of tweezers, Veronica tried calming herself down by taking some deep breaths and wiping her tears away. Looking down at Leon, she could see him growing pale, probably due to the pain and the minor blood loss. This was not the time to have a breakdown again. </p><p>“Keep putting pressure. We don’t want him bleeding out,” Ada instructed her, causing her to press a little harder. “Do you have any first aid supplies?”</p><p>“I have a bag of mixed medicinal herbs and a first aid spray. He might have a couple of sprays on him too.”</p><p>“We’ll just use what we both have. Take out your spray, he’s going to need it. When he’s awake, he should probably take some of the herbs as a backup. But first, I have to take out the bullet. Help me with his clothes.”</p><p>The two girls set to work on undoing Leon’s vest and his shirts. He would groan every now and again from the pain but remained unconscious. They unbuttoned and took off his police uniform shirt then began lifting his long-sleeved undershirt. </p><p>As they pulled it up, the two women were pleasantly surprised by the young man’s well defined upper body. <em> Oh, fuck! </em>Despite bleeding from a gunshot wound, his muscles were toned and nicely sculpted, clearly showing that Leon took care of himself. Being a new policeman and all, it would make sense. His body and that face, it had to be a crime to be this attractive. The girls glanced up at each other with looks of mutual understanding then back at Leon.</p><p>“Well, aren’t you the lucky one,” Ada said with a slight smirk as she tossed the blood-soaked shirt. Veronica blushed at that, keeping her eyes on Leon’s face.</p><p>“Uh, we’re not-.”</p><p>“Use this to clean the blood,” Ada interrupted while giving the other a piece of the gauze. The younger took it and began wiping the blood that would seep out of the bullet wound while Ada worked with the tweezers.</p><p>“How long have you known each other?” she asked nonchalantly as though she wasn’t peering down into a bloody hole.</p><p>“Not for long. I’m not really sure how much time has passed since we met.” Ada blinked up at her in surprise.</p><p>“That’s surprising.” A pained groan from below them caught her attention. She took a moment to dig for the bullet before pulling it out in one piece.</p><p>“You got it!”</p><p>“Ok, now I need you to spray the entire area. Hold down his other shoulder, he might thrash a little.” Veronica uncapped the spray then did as she said.</p><p>“Sorry, Leon,” she said before spraying all over the wound. The officer cried out in pain trying to move away, but the girls kept their grip on him. After a minute, he stopped moving and whimpered softly before getting quiet again. Ada placed the rest of the gauze on top of the wound then brought out medicinal tape.</p><p>“Help me sit him against the wall. It’ll be easier to bandage him.” With a bit of a struggle, the girls hauled him against one of the concrete walls. He was heavier than he looked. Veronica kept him sitting forward while Ada began wrapping his shoulder in bandages.</p><p>“Ada, thank you for staying,” the young girl said softly, causing the agent to pause in her work. “You could’ve left and gone after Annette, but you didn’t. I just...thank you.” Ada sighed and gave her a small smile. It was nice to see after only getting either mad or neutral expressions all night.</p><p>“I’m not that heartless, so...you’re welcome, Veronica. Thank you for helping me in my mission.” Veronica smiled back and nodded in response. Ada continued her bandaging and finished rather quickly before setting her tools away. </p><p>The undershirt was too bloody and would probably make things worse, so they left it on the ground. The girls did, however, slip his uniform shirt and his bulletproof vest back on. Veronica seemed to have a hard time getting the bandaged shoulder through his sleeve, so she opted to cut it off with one of her knives. It wasn’t the cleanest cut, but it would have to do. Tucking his shirt back into his pants was an experience she didn't think would happen so soon, but considering the situation they were in, she had to fight some inappropriate thoughts in her head.</p><p>As she was buttoning up his shirt, there was a sound of beeping coming from the device in Ada’s pocket. The agent took it out and began walking towards the other end of the room to talk in private. Veronica couldn’t hear the other end, only mumbles, but she could hear Ada’s voice.</p><p>“I’m right outside the facility, in pursuit of Annette.” There was a moment of the other line talking before she continued. “If it’s not on her, it must be in the NEST.” Some more muffled talking. “Once it’s in hand, I’ll call for extraction.” <em> NEST? Extraction? </em></p><p>Veronica was placing the vest back over Leon when Ada walked back over. She looked around then reached into her gun holster to pull out her gun. She checked it for ammunition before turning to the younger.</p><p>"I have to go and find Annette. She shouldn’t have gotten far. You stay here and watch Leon until he wakes up. When he does, you both can catch up.” Veronica looked up at her in surprise.</p><p>"It’s too dangerous to go alone. Can’t you wait for us?"</p><p>"There’s no time. We have to stop her and Umbrella before it’s too late. If you're worried, you could tag along." The young girl looked down at the unconscious man and shook her head.</p><p>"I can’t just leave him."</p><p>"Then stay here and I’ll go. I can take care of myself pretty well.” She picked up her trenchcoat and laid it over his legs. “Keep him warm and make sure he doesn’t die."</p><p>"Ok. Please be careful, Ada!" The F.B.I. agent nodded before running down the corridor towards a ladder that led up to a giant fan in the wall. She put her gun away then reached into another holster and pulled out a small gadget. </p><p>"You can run Annette, but you can't hide. It's secret weapon time," she said to herself before aiming it at the wall. Veronica watched curiously as some beeping noises came out of it then Ada aimed it at the fan. To the brunette’s surprise, the blades started spinning faster and faster till it exploded, revealing an opening for Ada to walk in. </p><p>"Holy shit!" </p><p>Ada smirked at her before climbing the ladder up to the opening. Unfortunately, the moment she was at the top, the ladder broke behind her, bending backward awkwardly. Clearly, it had rusted badly enough over time and no one had climbed up it for a while.</p><p>"Damn! There should be other ways to find me. Just look around. You'll find one," Ada said, before turning and disappearing. Veronica could hear her heeled footsteps fading away as she ran. There was another muffled explosion then silence.</p><p>The room suddenly felt so empty, leaving the couple with only the sounds of both of their breathing and the soft hum of the machinery around them. They were alone now and it was unsettling. </p><p>She finished clipping on his vest then pulled away. Looking down at her blood-stained arms, she decided to roll up her sleeves up to her forearms and took off her gloves. She didn’t need to constantly see his blood on her. She rubbed the blood off her gloves with one of the last clean parts of her jacket before discarding the thing overall. It was too damaged and covered in blood to use anymore. </p><p>Placing her gloves and her elbow pads back on, she made sure the room was sealed off before plopping next to Leon against the wall. Her back ached as it pressed against the cold concrete but slowly faded to the back of her mind. Looking over her friend, he was still breathing just fine and his face was slowly returning some color. She took one of his hands in her own and was happy to feel them getting warmer in her palm. She gave it a squeeze before scooting closer. </p><p>Body heat was a type of warmth that he probably needed, so this was fine, right? She was even a little cold too if she were honest. She was still slightly wet from the rain and she felt so bare without the jacket. Taking a moment to relax the tension in her body after the whole thing, she laid her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence which seemed almost unbearable after all of the shit they had been through. It was strange, really. </p><p>She peered down at their joined hands, rubbing across the soft skin of his with her thumb. He sighed softly next to her, still unconscious, and gently tightened his hand's grip in hers. She got excited for a moment thinking he might've woken up, but found his eyes still closed. Looking back at their joined hands, she realized he unintentionally cuddled closer and it made her feel warm inside. </p><p>It was weird to think that they hadn’t met that long ago, and now here they were, partners in crime sitting in the sewers of Raccoon City while working with a federal agent. It almost felt like a movie with how everything turned out. But it was just more terrifying then she realized. If she had told her past self from a year ago that this would be happening, she would think she was crazy, but it was all too real. </p><p>Minutes went by as she waited, listening to his breathing. It wasn't so labored anymore, which was a good sign, but he still wasn't waking up. She sniffled a little at that thought, wondering how much longer he would sleep for. It was scary watching him bleed out like that. </p><p>After all the time they had spent together, she came to truly accept that she truly cared for him, whether as a friend or something more, she wasn’t sure she could totally answer. But she cared nonetheless. At the gun shop from before, she could pinpoint that moment she fell for him, but she couldn't admit it out loud or to herself that she did. This wasn't a good time to like someone so much. It could get them killed if they're not careful. But she couldn't help what her heart felt.</p><p>“Leon, I hope you wake up soon. It’s so scary being alone. I could really use a smile right about now.” She closed her eyes, waiting in hopes of getting some sort of response, but was instead met with silence. Opening her eyes again, she kept her gaze on their shoes sitting next to each other. She bit her lip, unsure if she should do something to pass the time before just saying fuck it.</p><p>“You...are my sunshine, my only sunshine,” she softly sang. It was a song her mom would sing to her to make her feel better when she was feeling down, and now was definitely one of those moments. She paused for a moment to see if anything would happen and when nothing did, she continued. “You make me happy...when skies are grey. You’ll never know dear, how much I... love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.” She sniffled more, feeling her eyes starting to water. “Please don’t take my sunshine...away.”</p><p>“I was right.” Veronica shot up in surprise and turned to see Leon awake and smiling at her weakly. “You do sound great.” She couldn’t help the soft smile on her own face even as she was tearing up. He reached up with the uninjured arm to cup her cheek and brush away the tears with his thumb. “Don’t cry, Vee. I'm alright.” She laughed weakly as she leaned into his touch.</p><p>“How can I not? You just got shot!”</p><p>“But I’m still alive because of you.” She shook her head.</p><p>“I had a little help. If it wasn’t for Ada, I don’t know what would’ve happened.” He blinked suddenly remembering the government agent that was with them.</p><p>“Ada? Where is she?” he asked, glancing around the room then down at the trenchcoat on his legs. He dropped his hand to toss the coat to the side. While reaching over, he winced and reached up to his injured shoulder, finding it bandaged.</p><p>“After she helped you, she ran off to find Annette. I wanted her to wait for us, but she said there wasn’t enough time.” He looked back up at her.</p><p>“Why didn’t you go with her?”</p><p>“And leave you here? Alone? And injured? I couldn’t just abandon you!”</p><p>“But Ada-.” She leaned forward and cupped his cheek tenderly to interrupt him.</p><p>“We’re partners...aren’t we? We stick together. I have your back,” she said to him softly.</p><p>“And I have yours,” he finished.</p><p>“Always.” He sighed softly as he gazed at her with a fondness in his eyes.</p><p>“You really did save my life...again," he chuckled. She did the same, brushing her thumb against his cheek as he nuzzled into her touch.</p><p>“Now, I <em> really </em>should be getting a reward for being your knight in shining armor. But I’m not sure if a police paycheck will be nearly enough,” she teased playfully. </p><p>“Is that so? Veronica, if I didn’t know any better, I would think you were flirting with me,” he grinned cheekily. She bit her lip at that and scooted a little closer.</p><p>“Well...maybe I am.” She gently brushed away the hair out of his eyes, allowing blue eyes to meet brown ones. They both found themselves following the magnetic pull between them as they slowly leaned in towards each other. </p><p>Her heart pounded in her chest as she closed her eyes, the distance between them diminishing. Their lips barely brushed together when, suddenly, Leon hissed out in pain and fell back against the wall. Quickly pulling away, she could see him grasping at his shoulder in pain. </p><p>"Whoa take it easy! Are you ok?" He gave her a weak chuckle as he gently patted at his wound.</p><p>“I tried lifting my arm, but that didn't go too well. I'm sorry." She shook her head with an understanding smile.</p><p>"Don't be. It's ok! I don't want you hurting yourself more. Besides...we might not have as much time as we'd like." His eyes twinkled slightly at the idea but understood. Instead, he sighed, exhaustion evident in his face.</p><p>"Damn it." He paused then the corner of his lip curved up in a small smile. "I would hug you, but I kinda can’t right now.” She bit her lip to keep from giggling, her own words being said to her. <em> Things really are coming full circle, aren't they? </em></p><p>“Will this do?” she asked before leaning in and pressing her lips to his cheek to kiss softly. Pulling away, she found him smiling at her fondly.</p><p>“That’ll do just nicely,” he sighed, happily. She smiled then leaned over to look at his shoulder, pulling back the fabric to check the wound.</p><p>“How are you holding up?"</p><p>"Doesn't feel too great, not going to lie."</p><p>"I don't doubt it. It still looks ok. Do we still have those pain pills?" Leon nodded then gestured to the pouch on his left side. Veronica reached over and felt around for them in the bag before pulling them out. She popped out a couple of them then gave them to him to take. He did so and the pair decided to wait till they would kick in before going after Ada. </p><p>Veronica sat across from him while he continued to rest against the wall and slightly tested his mobility. She had him take some of the herbs as well, to see if it could speed up some sort of healing process. But considering the severity of the injury, it's possible that it wouldn't do anything. It was worth a try, though.</p><p>"Anything happen while I was out?" the young officer asked.</p><p>"Besides patching you up, I found out Ada's hot underneath that coat of hers," Veronica answered with a raise of her eyebrows. He looked at her in slight surprise. </p><p>"Is she now?"</p><p>"Yeah," she paused, realizing she hadn't told him about her sexuality. It was going to happen eventually, but she was nervous. She trusted him wholeheartedly, enough that she trusted him with her life. So, taking the leap, she said it slowly to him to see how he would react. "You should probably know that I like...both." He blinked at her, letting her words sink in, then nodded with a small relieved sigh.</p><p>"Glad to know that I'm not the only one," he smirked. Her eyes widened as a grin grew on her face.</p><p>"You are?"</p><p>"I may have lied when I said I had only one girlfriend. I also had a boyfriend before her. My, uh, my parents don't know."</p><p>"Neither do mine. Being in a Hispanic family makes that hard." Leon nodded in understanding.</p><p>"So...Ada's hot then?"</p><p>"Whoof! Leon, you should've seen her outfit. Like it's really weird for her to wear at a time like this, but boy is she a looker!"</p><p>"What is she wearing?" </p><p>"A red satin cocktail dress." He looked at her with a confused expression. "Yeah, I know! I'm just as confused as you are. Aren't F.B.I. agents supposed to dress more…?"</p><p>"Professionally? Yeah, that's kinda weird."</p><p>"Besides being dressed to kill, HQ called her. I couldn't hear what they were saying but I overheard Ada say something about Annette having something and that if she didn't have it, it was in 'NEST'."</p><p>"NEST?"</p><p>"Yeah. I'm assuming the thing she was talking about was the G-Virus, but I don't know what NEST is. Ada left before I could ask."</p><p>"Weird. When we catch up to her, we'll have to ask. Do you know which way she went?" Veronica pointed down the hall to the broken ladder.</p><p>"She went up there. It was actually really cool! She pulled out this gadget that, like, hacked the fan into exploding or something, but the ladder broke when she got up there."</p><p>"We would have to find another way then."</p><p>"Right."</p><p>"We should get going. She might need our help." He said sitting up and away from the wall.</p><p>"Are you sure? What about your shoulder?"</p><p>"There's no time. I'll be fine. Let's go!" Veronica helped him onto his feet then began looking around for a way to move forward. As they looked, they finally realized the body Annette had set on fire before was now just a charred up skeleton. However, there was something alien-like that looked like it had tried to pop out of the dead man's chest before it could be burned alive. It clearly didn’t make it in time since it was also completely charred, but it was still distinguishable to see. </p><p>They didn't know what it was, but it was now posed a new possible threat to them. While she was looking at it, Leon noticed a small lift sitting across the room. Calling her over, they both got on and with a push of a button, it lifted them up a floor to an entryway that led to a large room. </p><p>“Dammit. Where did you go?” Leon whispered more to himself.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Leon. We’ll find her. Ada’s a tough girl, she can take care of herself.”</p><p>They could hear the sound of rushing water as they entered and found there to be a large sewer opening down below them. Descending down a flight of concrete stairs, they reached an opening that led down into nasty green waters. The pair looked at each other then back down.</p><p>“This is gonna suck, isn’t it?” the girl murmured.</p><p>“Yup.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Now back on their feet after Leon's injury, the two survivors set out to find Ada in the sewers of Raccoon City, but find it worse than they thought it would be.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leon and Veronica both crouched down at the top of the landing then leaped over the edge, splashing into waist-deep waters. The fall wasn’t too bad, so they were able to keep themselves standing above the grossness without getting soaked from head to toe.</p><p>“Ugh!” Veronica groaned, nose crinkling in disgust.</p><p>“That’s a pleasant smell.”</p><p>“Tell me about it. Try not to get your wounds wet. It’ll get infected with god knows what.” </p><p>Wandering around, they found a box of ammo lying amongst the garbage piles lining the walls before moving on. It was strange to see, but considering their situation they weren’t about to argue with it. They were going to need all the ammo they could get. They continued down through a dark tunnel that entered into a wide waterway. On one end, there was a small concrete landing that they could climb onto and on it was an iron gate that was locked down. At its base was a mechanism that required a handle or crank to turn it. It must be able to open the gate.</p><p>On the other end of the waterway was a fork in the road. The left tunnel led to a dead-end with a box of shotgun ammo sitting on a giant pile of trash, while the right was a way out of the water. Crawling onto the concrete landing, they walked up a small set of stairs then raised their guns in shock at the scene.</p><p>There were two bodies slumped against the walls, blood splattered everywhere. They looked like they were part of some sort of militant group by the looks of their uniforms and gas-masked faces. Leon carefully kicked at one of the bodies to see if it would jump and found it dead. </p><p>Kicking the other, however, it began to groan, so he shot it with the new magnum gun they had gotten from the S.T.A.R.S. office. With a surpassing amount of force, the bullet hit its head and exploded on impact. As soon as it was down though, Leon groaned and reached up to his shoulder.</p><p>“Are you ok?” Veronica worriedly asked. Leon was about to answer when another zombie in a jumpsuit staggered down more stairs towards them. Getting in front of the young officer, Veronica cocked her gun and killed the zombie quickly. She turned and looked back at her injured friend. “Maybe you should leave the shooting to me for a while.”</p><p>“I might have to take you up on that offer. I’m sorry.”</p><p>“Don’t apologize, Leon. Shoot only when you have to, and maybe use Matilda instead. The magnum looks pretty powerful!”</p><p>“Fair enough,” he replied as he switched guns. Just as they were about to move on, however, he noticed something on the ground next to one of the bodies. It was a VHS tape. </p><p>“A tape? Here?”</p><p>“Maybe it has some clues as to what’s going on here. I mean, look at these guys. They look like they were professionals,” he said while picking it up and examining the bodies.</p><p>“We’ll keep an eye out for a VHS player, then. Not sure if we'll find one, but you never know. Let’s go.” They continued up some more stairs, passing by another body, up to a walkway that looked over the waters they were just in. Moving forward, they were caught off guard by a body sliding down from a pipe near the ceiling and hitting the floor in front of them with a loud slam. It began to groan, so Veronica quickly put it out of its misery.</p><p>They passed by a locked door labeled ‘Treatment Facility’ and went up towards the other side of the walkway. Slumped against the wall was a dead body that groaned slightly once it noticed them, but was quickly shot down. Down the hall from it was a zombie that was wandering around, heard the commotion and began stumbling towards them. She shot that one too. They stopped and listened for any other groaning and was relieved to hear none.</p><p>“God, they’re down here too,” she sighed. “There really isn’t any safe place in this city.”</p><p>“That means we have to keep our guard up. Water is hard to walk through, so we have to be especially careful.”</p><p>Looking around they found two locked doors, one with a similar label to the other that they had passed a few moments earlier. On the wall near where the zombie was slouched against was a breaker box with what looked like a chess piece plugged into it.</p><p>“It’s a rook piece,” Leon stated as he pulled it from the box. They watched as the walkway towards one of the labeled doors began rising, so he put it back to lower it into its original position. </p><p>“You know how to play chess?” He nodded. </p><p>“I’ve played with my grandpa ever since I was little. He taught me how.”</p><p>“That’s really cute! But why use it as an electrical part?”</p><p>“I don’t know. We’ll just leave it here, for now.”</p><p>They walked across the walkway and took a right at the door that led to a long staircase down. At the bottom was a knife on a barrel and another waterway, but this one dropped off into another. Sighing, they slid back into the water and walked over to the edge. Peering over, they noticed it was a sloped edge that they could slide down on.</p><p>“Is this really the only way?” Veronica whined.</p><p>“Looks like it. C’mon!” They both climbed over and started sliding down with the running water. Veronica yelped as they dropped down with a splash. They quickly bobbed out of the water, their upper bodies now soaked.</p><p>“Argh! Shit!” the officer sputtered while wiping his face.</p><p>“This is so not rad!” his friend cried while squeezing the ends of her hair to get the water out. She took her hair tie from her wrist and tied her hair up into a high ponytail to keep it out of the way. It ended up being more helpful than she thought.</p><p>“I got my shoulder wet,” Leon grumbled. </p><p>“Fuck. I’m sure my back isn’t any better.”</p><p>“We’re probably going to get infected, no matter what we do. Maybe when we’re safe, we’ll spray them to be sure.”</p><p>Finally looking up at their surroundings, they were horrified to find the part of the sewers no one really sees. There were large garbage mounds mixed with probably human excrements spewing out of giant sewer holes on the sides of the walls. It was dimly lit and just plain disgusting. The smell was worse here and it made Veronica gag.</p><p>There was another one of those locked gates on a concrete landing and a blue herb sitting in the corner. Continuing forward they followed the clear path in the water to another fork in the road. The left was blocked off by a gate while the other looked clear. </p><p>As they drew nearer that way, something large and lumpy swam across the murky water’s surface towards where they needed to go. The survivors froze in place as they watched it bob around the water, blocking their way forward.</p><p>“What the hell!?”</p><p>“What the fuck is that?!” the young girl hissed quietly. Whatever it was seemed to pulse as it rested in place.</p><p>“I don’t know. Should I shoot it?”</p><p>“It might piss the thing off.”</p><p>“But it might move if we do. Do you have a better idea?” She thought about it for a moment before shaking her head.</p><p>“Fine.” She raised up her gun in preparation. “Go for it.”</p><p>Leon held up Matilda with a small wince and shot a single bullet at the mass blocking their way. It popped out of the water with a shrill scream and looked around for the cause of its distress. The pair stared in horror at it, a monster of grotesque proportions. </p><p>On one side of it was a hulking mass with a large arm and leg connected to it. The other side was smaller with a human-sized arm and leg, but its head was something they had never seen before. Once it got sight of them, the head stretched out into a long snake-like thing.</p><p>It roared and opened its head like a sick looking flower and began spitting something into the water. They were a trio of small creatures that hissed and swam towards them hungrily. Reacting quickly, Veronica shot them out of the water as quickly as she could before the pair ran towards the safety of the landing they saw. They climbed onto it and watched as the monster sank back into the water and disappeared.</p><p>“It can spit out babies!?” the brunette exclaimed leaning against the brick wall.</p><p>“We have to get past it somehow. Vee, how’s your ammo doing?”</p><p>“Getting kind of low, to be honest. Yours?”</p><p>“About the same. But I do have 3 grenades. How about I throw one at it then we just book past it,” he suggested. </p><p>“It’s worth a shot. I only have flash grenades.” He reached for his belt and took one of his grenades out for her to take.</p><p>“Here. Why don’t we trade each other for one, so that you have a regular one and I also have a flash. I already have three of these.”</p><p>“You sure?”</p><p>“Yeah. Just make sure you pull the pin and throw it as far as you can, ok?” She took it then gave him one of hers. He also gave her a first aid spray since she used hers on him before.</p><p>“Ok. Ready?” She nodded then the two jumped back into the water. They got close enough to the lump to see it before Leon threw the grenade as planned. It went off causing the monster to pop out of the water with a loud scream. The explosion showed that the top layer on the giant mass it had, had been broken revealing a giant glowing eye. It looked eerily similar to one from the monster they had fought in the basement to the police department.</p><p>Finding an opening, they tried running past it, but the water and the monster’s hulking size wasn’t any help. Its massive hand reached out and grabbed a hold of Veronica, lifting her up in the air effortlessly. She screamed trying to push herself out of its grasp and looked up to watch its head whip up and open. </p><p>“VEE!”</p><p>The head lunged at her, so in an attempt to stop it, she quickly reached up and held it back to keep it from eating her. She grunted trying to push it away and got a burst of disgusting liquid spewed at her in the process. She could feel whatever it was, entered her system causing her arms to weaken and it was getting harder to breathe. </p><p>There was the sound of a loud gunshot going off before the monster suddenly dropped her into the water. She stumbled back onto her feet in time to watch Leon shoot more magnum bullets at the eye then the monster let out a final screech before falling into the water dead.</p><p>Taking in a deep breath, Veronica felt her lungs spasm and she was thrown into a coughing fit. Leon ran to her side and started patting her back gently. She tried talking only to cough again into her arm. Her lungs ached for proper airflow and her legs were becoming a little wobbly.</p><p>“Le-on,” she finally wheezed before another fit. </p><p>“What’s wrong?!”</p><p>“Can’t...breathe.” He tilted her head up to look at him, his eyes darting across her face.</p><p>“It must be a poison. C’mon, let’s get out of the water and I can treat you.” She nodded as they quickly made it to the concrete landing and climbed out. Leon sat her down and kneeled in front of her while putting his gun away. He asked her for the herb bag and poured out a small pile of mostly blue herb with some green for her to take. After she swallowed it, they waited for a moment to see if it would work. Finally, after about a minute, she took in a deep breath without coughing.</p><p>“It’s working. I can breathe better,” she croaked.</p><p>“Good. I was getting a little worried there. Here, look at me for a sec.” She stared up at him as he brought out his flashlight and shined it in her eyes. She resisted the urge to shut them as he examined them.</p><p>“Things look fine. We can only wait to see if anything happens down the line," he told her while putting his light away. She blinked her eyes repeatedly trying to fight the blinding spots in her vision.</p><p>“I didn’t realize I was with a medical professional here,” she chuckled, breathing going back to normal. He merely shook his head at her joke with a small smile.</p><p>“Police officers have first aid training and some take the same training as first responders. As an overachiever, I took the more intense route. That's why I was able to identify the symptoms of poisoning."</p><p>“Wow. That's incredibly helpful considering the situation!"</p><p>"Tell me about it. It helped me when you got caught by the licker too. I bet if I wasn't an officer, we'd both be dead." Leon stood up and helped his partner onto her feet. She was a little shaky but grounded herself the best she could.</p><p>"I don't know about that. Something tells me you'd persevere anything no matter what. You already do now, regardless."</p><p>"Maybe, but I would be clueless in a medical emergency." She shrugged at his response before hanging her gun around her shoulder.</p><p>"I'm sure if you were in this situation, you would've given me mouth to mouth instead of herbs. Not very helpful, but it's the thought that counts," she giggled playfully, receiving a smirk in return.</p><p>"Believe me. I almost did," he replied in a low voice while putting the herbs back in her pouch. His response gave her body a small jolt of excitement, causing her to bite her lip. Two could play at that game. Once he was done and looked back up at her, she got real close, reached up and gently cupped his chin with one of her hands, her thumb brushing across the small cleft under his lip. He was taken back by her boldness, but couldn’t help but lean into her touch.</p><p>"Then I guess I do have my own knight in shining armor," she smirked before giving his cheek a small tap and walked away. Leon couldn't help the dopey smile on his face as he watched her walk with a small sway to her hips. He shook his head in disbelief then quickly caught up to her. </p><p>“So now we have another monster to watch out for down here. Who knows how many of those things there are,” Veronica stated, getting serious again. It was nice to change the atmosphere when they were being flirty, but they had to remember where they were.</p><p>“They seem to like the waters, so maybe we should try and avoid it as much as possible.”</p><p>"We can try. But now we know the threat that those things pose for us."</p><p>"And its weakness. We know how to kill them.”</p><p>“As long as we have enough ammo. Speaking of which, how’s the shoulder?”</p><p>“Not that great, but I’m hanging in there. The magnum doesn’t treat me well. By the way, it’s also out of ammo.”</p><p>“Well isn’t that great.”</p><p>They carefully walked through the dark hallway to a small set of stairs that led to a metal door. Passing through it, the couple was taken by surprise at the sight of a cable car sitting against a steep slope that led down into a long tunnel. The wires connecting to it sparked every now and again which meant there was still electricity working.</p><p>“A cable car...Interesting,” Leon muttered. </p><p>“Where does it go?”</p><p>“It probably has something to do with Umbrella,” he responded nodding to the red and white umbrella insignia on the side of the car. They ascended up a long metal staircase then climbed a ladder up to a control room. Carefully walking in, they found it empty besides the control panels lining the wall. </p><p>On the opposite side of the room was a glass wall that peered over into a giant well-lit room. There was a long catwalk that stood high above a pool of sewer water and there was a giant metal claw that had crashed through one of the walls.</p><p>“Where’d she go?” Leon huffed as he looked out of the window. Veronica picked up a box of shotgun ammo from a chair then stood behind him. She gently placed a hand on his back and followed his gaze.</p><p>“We’ll find her, Leon. She shouldn’t have gotten far,” she tried reassuring him. He nodded with a small sigh before smiling at his partner. She smiled back then the two turned back around to check the rest of the room. By the door was a desk with a dead computer and some papers on it. Next to it was a set of lockers, one padlocked that needed a code. Leon picked up one of the papers and glanced over it while Veronica took a look at what seemed to be a broken lift.</p><p>“We could jump down to the lift from here and down again into that room beneath us,” she suggested before looking back at him. “What’s that?” she gestured to the paper in his hand.</p><p>“They’re copies of emails sent to Umbrella HQ. One of the people working here was trying to get help during the outbreak by contacting a director. I guess it didn’t work,” he explained while setting it down.</p><p>“Jesus.”</p><p>“Yeah. Well, too late now I guess. What was that you said about a lift?”</p><p>She pointed out the broken lift then peered down. It was broken halfway between the room they were in and the one below them. Leon jumped down first then jumped again into the next room. He waved her down and with a little struggle, she made it down alongside him. The room they were in was another control room with a wall of windows on the one side and more control panels on the other. It was well lit and looked as if the workers had just left for lunch with how normal it was.</p><p>As they peered around the room, the sound of muffled groaning coming from the other side of the windows caught their attention. Rounding the corner, they walked up to the glass cautiously.</p><p>“I don’t like the sound of that,” the young man murmured.</p><p>“What is it?” his partner asked curiously as soon as they peered out into the room. It was a large garbage room with piles of trash lying everywhere. On the other side of it was a large door labeled ‘Waste Disposal’ that looked like the only way inside.</p><p>“Doesn’t look like it’s in there.” He pressed a hand up on the glass and looked around worriedly. “Come on,” he whispered to himself. Peering down, Veronica noticed a familiar splash of red amongst the trash.</p><p>“Leon! There’s Ada!” she pointed out. Ada was slumped over, possibly unconscious by the looks of things. </p><p>“Ada!” A particularly loud growl from the other side of the waste disposal door tore their gaze away from the agent. Whatever it was, it was waiting on the other side of that door.</p><p>“We have to get to her before ‘it’ does!” Leon nodded in agreement, looking out at the agent one last time.</p><p>“We’re coming, Ada!”</p><p>The pair turned back to the room and began searching for a way to get to her. While picking up some random ammo lying about, they quickly found the door that looked like it led to the garbage room. However, it was locked via an electric lock and was made of thick metal like a safe door. There was no physical way of getting in unless they could unlock it. Leon pounded a fist against it once in frustration.</p><p>“Damn it!” A hand gently touched his arm, capturing his attention. He glanced over to find Veronica looking at him with a soft expression.</p><p>“Leon, calm down. We’ll figure it out. It hasn’t gotten in yet. It’s possible that it won’t be able to. The door looks sturdy enough.” She looked around the section of the room they were in and found six breaker boxes lining the walls, three on each side. “Look!”</p><p>There was a desk against the opposite wall with a corkboard above it, covered in paperwork. She jogged over to take a look while Leon looked at the breakers. He pulled out a plug and looked at it curiously. </p><p>“These are chess pieces!” he said, holding it up for her to see. Her eyebrows raised in surprise then down at a paper on the desk, before picking it up.</p><p>“Just like the rook piece back where we started!” She glanced over it then back at Leon. “They are what opens the door. They have to be put in a specific order.” Looking back on the corkboard, she found a clue to the answer. “Since you know how to play chess, this should be easy to solve!”</p><p>“But we have a problem. We’re missing three plugs. Three pieces.” </p><p>“One being the rook, huh?” He nodded. “Just great. We’ll have to find them around here somewhere. Right?”</p><p>“They have to be. They need those plugs to get through this door. If we don’t, we’ll figure something out.” She nodded then led them back to where they came in. Against a nearby wall were a giant black box and a desk that had a T.V. and VHS player. She turned to her partner excitedly once she remembered what they had found earlier.</p><p>“Still have the tape?” He pulled it out and handed it to her. She pushed a couple of buttons, turning on the appliances before inserting the tape. </p><p>The two watched curiously as the screen flickered with static for a moment before working. Finally, an image appeared. It was of a man face down on the floor groaning in pain. Based off of the surroundings and the man's placement, they figured it was the dead man they had found the tape with. There was an open suitcase in front of him and broken vials of liquid spilled onto the floor. In the corner of the video, it was labeled ‘A. Kirkpatrick’ and was dated on September 23rd, aka just before the outbreak. The man panned the camera up, showing that it was attached to his head or helmet. You could hear frantic yelling in the background.</p><p>“Please...Oh...please...stop...St-Stop!” he begged while reaching for the suitcase. He tried crawling towards the sound of a gun firing and looked up to see one of the soldiers they had seen dead fighting against something. “Don’t...don’t...no...no...no!”</p><p>A pair of large deformed hands picked up the suitcase in one frame before the static cut in. The image came back with the man looking up at a familiar monster who was pouring the contents of the suitcase onto him and in his mouth. Despite being blurry, they recognized what it was.</p><p>“Leon, that’s the monster!”</p><p>“OVER HERE, YOU FREAK!” the other man who was still standing screamed while shooting at it some more.</p><p>“Don’t hurt him...Don’t hurt him,” the injured man begged as he watched the monster stalk towards the other. The image was getting blurrier by the second. All it took was one swipe of the thing to slam the soldier against the wall, splattering blood everywhere. Veronica gasped in shock, grasping Leon’s arm for purchase. He reached up and squeezed her hand, still watching the video. That man was dead and all it took was one hit.</p><p>The one still recording on the floor gasped for breath and looked down at a rat who was eating at one of the broken vials on the floor. More rats joined it as the monster began walking back to him. As soon as it got close enough, they scattered. The last shot was of the monster's foot stepping on the broken vial before cutting out completely.</p><p>“Oh my god! Was that…?”</p><p>“The virus. I’ll bet those rats spread it,” Leon said, eyes glued onto the screen. </p><p>“That was it then. The start of the outbreak. It was the monster’s fault.”</p><p>“But who is the monster? Did you see how human it still looked in the video? When we fought it, it looked so much worse,” he explained, finally looking over at her.</p><p>“I don’t know. But I think we’re going to find out soon.”</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After finding Ada trapped in a garbage room, Veronica and Leon begin their exploration of the sewers to look for a way in to rescue her. What awaits them in the bowels of the sewers?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The pair of survivors took a moment to take some inventory and fill out Leon’s little notebook he still had. They found a map to the sewers that they were in and added anything they had missed before to it. Their objective: to find the missing pieces to the lock in the sewers or find a different way to get in. </p><p>Considering how low they were on medical supplies they decided to not change out the bandages until they could get some more or get out of the sewers. They needed to keep what they had in case they got hurt again and rechanging them every time they got in the sewage wasn't ideal.</p><p>There was a door near where they found the map on the other side of the room. It led out to the same room that they had seen from up in the first control room and according to the map, it was called the Treatment Pool room. By pulling a nearby lever, the walkway that stood high above them began to lower. Once it had reached to the floor, they cautiously made their way across and decided to take a look at the cable car since it led that way. It was a short platform with a desk full of electronic repair parts and a small set of stairs leading down. </p><p>On the desk was a T-bar lever that they realized could be used on the many gates they had seen, so they took it. When they walked up to the cable car door, the sign lit up green with the words 'Visitor' on it. The door didn't open, however, and instead, they were met with a monotone voice.</p><p>"ID wristband required for entry."</p><p>"A wristband? Where are we gonna find that?" Veronica huffed as they walked down the stairs.</p><p>"No idea. I suppose we'll look out for that too." At the bottom of the stairs was another table covered in repair items and a note. It said that there was a safe lying around that had a code written on the side in chalk. Hopefully, no one had erased it yet. They jogged back the way they came and to their surprise, there was a safe sitting on a metal table just on the other side of the room. </p><p>Passing the door that they would need to get through next, they carefully walked up to the safe. There was a body lying on the ground just a few feet away from them, so as to not take any chances, Veronica used her almost forgotten hammer to destroy the head. There was a blue herb sitting next to the body so they took it now knowing that poisonous enemies were around. While she was doing that, Leon cracked open the safe with the code still written in chalk on the side of it. Inside was a shotgun stock that he happily added to their gun, giving it a boost for their protection.</p><p>Once they were done, they headed to the door and walked into a dark staircase. The air smelled like garbage again, meaning they were back by the waters. They had to be careful, knowing what they're up against. At the bottom of the stairs, they could see two zombies staggering about. They crept down a little closer to see if they could maybe just run by but one of them caught sight of them which made the other one notice too. </p><p>"Shit!" It was a little bit of a struggle being on a slope and shooting in such a tight corridor, but eventually, they were able to knock the zombies out. At the bottom of the stairs, they found themselves in a junction that would lead in two directions. One end looked like it led down a small staircase while another went back to the part of the sewers where they had come across the first monster. There was a running current on that side of the room that was blocked off by a large gate, but when they pulled a switch on the wall next to it, it raised it up. </p><p>"So which way should we go?" Leon asked his partner. She looked at both pathways and bit her lip as she thought about it.</p><p>"Well, we already know what's that way," she pointed to the familiar path before taking out her map. "But there is that gate we saw and a blue herb we didn't pick up back there. Now that we have the crank to open those gates, it's now an option. Or we go this way," she pointed the other way, "to the bottom waterway and see what's over there."</p><p>"You can decide while I pack this green herb," Leon told her while picking up a green herb pot that he found from atop a random oil barrel. She took a hot second to think about it before deciding. </p><p>"Let's go the new way and see what we find. If there's nothing special, we'll just swing back to that gate."</p><p>"Ok. Let's go!"</p><p>The survivors began making their way towards the dark staircase leading to one of the gates that needed to be raised. With a little bit of a struggle, they inserted the crank and got the gate up, opening the path forward. Walking through though, they almost wished they hadn't. On the other side was a catwalk that stood high above the bottom waterway and it looked like a living nightmare. </p><p>It was dark and lit partially by a couple of dim lights along the walls and a bright red light cascading over the other side of the room where there was a lone door. To get to it, however, they had to trudge through sewer waters and pulsating growths that looked like human organs that sat in mounds across the room. It piled up in corners and was growing up the walls like vines and the sound of tortured moans echoed in the large room. </p><p>Just by the sound of it, there had to be more of those monsters in there, but the pair couldn't see them even from the high catwalk. The room smelled the worst out of anywhere they had been that night. It was a mix of sewage and decomposing body parts. Both of the survivor’s stomachs lurched at the overwhelming senses that the room attacked them with.</p><p>"My god," Veronica whispered in horror at the sight. "What is this?"</p><p>“This is getting worse! We have to hurry!” They continued on the catwalk towards the other end and found a table sitting against the wall. In an open box hanging on the wall, they found a key with a chess insignia and a similar label to the Treatment Facility doors from before. They needed to go get the rook piece from there anyway, so they took it with them. Across from the table was a ladder that led down to the horrendous scene below them. They looked at each other knowingly.</p><p>“Let’s save this room for last,” Leon suggested.</p><p>“Agreed,” his partner replied, never having said something faster in her life. Instead, they took the stairs just to the left of the table up towards another gate. Peeping through the bars, they could see the familiar waterway they had started in that would lead them to the rook piece. However, at the base of the gate, the T-bar crank was broken leaving them the only option with going around the long way. They could open it from the other side and take this route back to Ada.</p><p>The pair retraced their steps back towards the room that would lead them to the other waterway. As they walked in, a body that they hadn’t noticed before jumped out at them from around the corner, grabbing onto Veronica with a growl. She yelped and quickly reached behind her for a knife and plunged it into the zombie’s neck, shoving it back before it could bite her. As soon as it was stunned, she took out her gun and shot the zombie down.</p><p>“Fuck!” she said breathlessly, her heart beating in her chest. </p><p>“Are you ok?!”</p><p>“I’m fine! Just got spooked! Wasn’t bit, thank god.”</p><p>“That was some quick thinking! It was really impressive!”</p><p>“It was all I could think of since I couldn’t reach my gun! I remembered you did the same thing back in the morgue,” she said while taking the knife back from the corpse.</p><p>“That’s right. I did do that, huh?” She nodded as they continued over towards the water and climbed in. The cold sludge never failed to make her shiver uncomfortably as they trudged through. </p><p>Before they could head in the direction they needed to go, Leon decided to look around for anything that could be helpful along the garbage that lined the cement landing they were just on. They had found random supplies everywhere in the trash so far and he found his gut instinct was right. There was another grenade waiting for them to take, now leaving him with two besides the flash grenade he had traded for.</p><p>Moving on, they carefully made their way towards the gate with the blue herb and even found a can of gunpowder on the way there. However, as they were just passing by one of the sewer holes in the wall, one of those monsters began clambering out and splashing into the water behind them. </p><p>The pair hastily got onto the small cement landing before it would notice their presence and began lifting the gate up. While Veronica did that, Leon packed the blue herb they had left behind into their herb bag. They quickly made their way in and found it to be mainly empty besides trash, some shotgun ammo and to their surprise, a small lift. They hopped on and pushed the button, letting it carry them up a floor. </p><p>The room they got to was a small workroom with supplies scattered about and a body lying on the floor. Veronica quickly disposed of it with her hammer just in case it decided to get up. They found another pouch, some more handgun ammo, and another roll of film labeled ‘Hiding Place’. While Veronica was attaching the new pouch to her hip, Leon examined the film.</p><p>“Did the map say there was a dark room down here?” His partner blinked as she thought about it for a second then took out the maps to check.</p><p>“I don’t see one. The only one we know about is back at the police station.”</p><p>“Damn. Well, maybe we’ll find a hidden one somewhere. Otherwise, we're never gonna see these develop,” he replied while packing the film in a pouch. Noticing that their packs were a little messy, they took a moment to empty their supplies of things that weren’t necessary anymore like police department keys and anything else they found unuseful. </p><p>They did find the roll of film they had gotten in the parking lot and had forgotten to develop, but instead of throwing it out, they decided to keep it just in case. Once they were done and reloaded their guns with ammo, despite being low, they unlocked the door they were in and realized they were back where the rook piece was.</p><p>“Oh wow! We somehow made it back!”</p><p>“Which is good for us ‘cause now we can get the rook piece!” Leon was about to take it when Veronica stopped him.</p><p>“Wait! Let’s look in that room first!” she said, pointing to the door on the other end. She lifted the key that they had picked up into view before jogging over with Leon right behind her. Unlocking it, they found a small room with some machinery and a table with two gunpowder cans on it. One was one of the large gunpowders and the other was a higher grade can. Since they were in a safe place, they combined all the cans they had to make more ammo.</p><p>Now done with that room, they walked back out and back the way they came from. Leon took the rook piece, now making that pathway inaccessible as the platform rose up. They walked over to the other locked door and inside was a breakroom for employees. There was a table in the middle and lockers lining the walls. Looking around, they found more ammo, gunpowder and on the table was a flyer. </p><p>Leon took a look at it while Veronica kept searching the room when all of a sudden, she paused midstep. There was a small cold breeze brushing against her and it seemed to be only in that one spot. Glancing around she couldn’t see a vent, but that breeze couldn’t be coming from nothing. <em> Where is that coming from? </em></p><p>“It’s a jazz festival flyer,” Leon interrupted her thoughts. “But there are letters circled on it.”</p><p>“Maybe it’s a clue. Write it down just in case,” she said while looking over curiously at a cabinet sitting next to her. It was a wide cabinet with yellow tape in an X across it. Opening the doors, she found nothing, so she took a look at one of the sides.</p><p>“Veronica? What are you doing?” </p><p>“I feel a breeze coming from this!” she told him before finding that her intuition was right. She pressed a shoulder to the side of the cabinet and gave it a hard shove with a grunt. It had only moved an inch due to not enough strength and the toll it took on her back, but her assumption was correct. There was a secret area behind this cabinet. “Can you give me a hand?”</p><p>He walked over and used his uninjured shoulder to help her shove the cabinet to the side. Once it was out of the way, the pair found that it was a secret elevator. The doors opened with a push of the button and Veronica walked in, curiously.</p><p>“Should we see where this leads?”</p><p>“Might as well!” Leon replied walking in after her. She pushed the button and the elevator began rising. It seemed to go on forever as it rose higher and higher. Leon looked over at his companion as they waited then reached over to gently take her hand in his. She was slightly taken by surprise for a second before she smiled at him and laced their fingers together.</p><p>“You ok?” she asked softly.</p><p>“Yeah, I just wanted to hold your hand. Is that ok?”</p><p>“As long as we’re safe, you can do it anytime.” He smiled as the elevator slowed to a stop and opened to a well-lit room. It wasn’t much besides holding construction supplies and a staircase leading up. They walked hand in hand inside, picked up a random box of ammo for the magnum then they went up the stairs. </p><p>At the top was a gated door that was locked on their side, so they unlocked it and walked inside a dark room. There were more construction supplies lying around and another staircase leading up on the other side. The room was tall and made of concrete, but something about it gave Veronica a feeling like she was having déjà vu. </p><p>“Why does this place look so familiar to me?”</p><p>“You see it too then,” Leon said to her. It was quiet, but there was a distant sound of hissing that sounded like they’ve heard it before. They let go of each other's hands so that they could explore the room. The young officer poked at a casing that was against the wall that looked like it held something useful for one of his guns. There was a space on the front of the case that was shaped like a police badge and the S.T.A.R.S. insignia was painted on the glass.</p><p>“Damn. I think the S.T.A.R.S. badge opens this,” he grumbled.</p><p>“We left it at their office, didn’t we?” </p><p>“Unfortunately.”</p><p>“That’s too bad,” Veronica said picking up a random grenade that was lying on the ground. She took out her flashlight and shined it up the staircase, trying to get a good view at the room above them. Instead, her eyes widened at the sight as she realized where they were. “No fucking way!” She suddenly took off up the stairs, leaving Leon behind looking confused.</p><p>“Vee?”</p><p>“Leon! Get up here!” He jogged up after her finding her waiting for him a few flights up. She was standing in front of a familiar door filled with steam and pipes, her face full of shock. “Do you realize where we are!?” He glanced into the room then looked at her in realization. They both looked up the remaining flights of stairs and ran up them to a familiar iron gate to an elevator.</p><p>“But, we can’t be! There’s no way we could be back at the police station!” </p><p>“There’s only one way to find out for sure!” Veronica exclaimed as she pressed the elevator button. The doors snapped open allowing the couple in then it quickly took them up a floor. Walking out, they were met with the familiar sight of the underground room beneath the goddess statue. Everything still looked the same as they had left it, including the open doorway into the police station. </p><p>“How did we possibly get back here?! We were in the city sewers for god’s sake! I would have figured we were miles away from this place!” Veronica questioned, clearly flabbergasted at the situation. Unsure about whether the station was safe, she used the crank they had to close the entrance since it was still open from the last time they were there. They didn’t want to risk anything coming into a room they deemed safe.</p><p>“That elevator was hidden for a reason and now I can see why. But why would it lead here?” Leon added as he sat on the big box to rest for a moment. Might as well while they figured stuff out. He watched her pace in thought then suddenly, she stopped and turned to Leon with a face of realization. </p><p>“Irons!”</p><p>“Chief Irons?” He arched an eyebrow. </p><p>“Yes! Oh!” she nodded as she figured it out, a small excited smile growing on her face. She'd never thought she would be solving a mystery one day so this was exciting for her. “Irons worked with Umbrella!”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Ben was going to out Irons for something, right? For what? First, he goes to interview Annette who works for Umbrella, who we now know was clearly hiding things.”</p><p>“Right?”</p><p>“Including the big sinkhole in the middle of the city where he said there were rumors about that being the place where their lab is. Well, we know that’s true! The sewer we first went into with Ada, heads straight to it. She even told us it did. And what do we find?!”</p><p>“The cable car!”</p><p>“Which probably leads there. That's probably what NEST is!" </p><p>“She also said Umbrella had been controlling Raccoon City for years! Which means they can control the police department," he added, while nodding his head as he understood where this was going. </p><p>“That's right!! Irons had to have been in on it and was probably paid a lot to keep it a secret.”</p><p>“‘Welcome to corporate America’.”</p><p>“Exactly. And in order for him to keep an eye out for the facility, he would’ve needed immediate access to get there. It’s all connected!” she exclaimed while waving her arms around in excitement.</p><p>“Ben was right! Then I guess...Irons wasn’t such a hero after all,” the young man sighed. Veronica’s smile dropped, suddenly feeling guilty and went to stand in front of him.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Leon.” He shook his head and looked up at her.</p><p>“Don’t be. It doesn’t matter anymore. If anything, he’s dead to me now,” he said reaching for her hands and pulling her closer. “What matters is that we survive.”</p><p>“Right.” He smiled up at her with tired eyes.</p><p>“You know, you’re cute when you play detective. Which by the way, you’re really good at.” She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks.</p><p>“Am I, now?”</p><p>“Yeah! You get all excited and it’s really cute. You’re also really smart! I’m not sure I would’ve come up with the same conclusion as you.”</p><p>“I’m sure you would’ve. You're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for. Besides, you helped me draw up my conclusion! Bouncing ideas off of each other is really helpful!" </p><p>"Teamwork makes the dream work, partner!" She grinned at that as she looked over his dirty face and rubbed her thumb over a smudge on his cheek. </p><p>"Hell yeah!... But I guess those murder mysteries I watch with my mom are paying off,” she giggled while using the same hand to push his hair away from his face.</p><p>“I guess so,” he chuckled. “When we get out of here, mind if I sharpen up my crime-solving skills with you?”</p><p>“I’d be really happy if you did. You wouldn’t mind if my mom was there too, would you?”</p><p>“I’d be happy to meet her!” </p><p>“Good. I’m sure she’d like you! I just hope we make it out of here so that you can,” she said, her expression slowly melting into one of uncertainty. He sighed at that then leaned forward to wrap his arms around her waist. </p><p>“C’mere.” Getting the idea, her arms reached over to wrap around his neck while she scooted as close as she could between his legs. Once she was in his arms, she pressed her face into his neck gently. Despite the overwhelming sewer stench coming from his clothes, she could somehow still smell the cologne he was wearing on his skin. It was faint but still there. She could still remember what it smelt like when she had his jacket. It was nice.</p><p>“We’re going to make it out of here. I promised you from the very beginning that we would and I haven’t failed you just yet. We’ve made it this far and as long as we stick together, we’re going to be just fine,” he told her in a soft voice. It comforted her to hear those words. She sighed softly against his neck causing a shiver to pass through him.</p><p>“You really are something, Leon,” she whispered, voice cracking a little in a moment of vulnerability. One of his hands gently rubbed the top part of her back comfortingly, fingers eventually playing with the bottom strands of her ponytail. </p><p>“Can we just sit like this for a little longer?” he asked softly.</p><p>“I wish we could, but-.”</p><p>“What’s 3 more minutes?” Her arms tightened around his neck, already in agreement as to not wanting to let go just yet.</p><p>“Ok. Can you just... take the hair tie out of my hair, please?” He did so as gently as he could then ran his fingers through her hair over and over soothingly. And there they sat in silence just embracing each other while the world outside burned to pieces. It was comforting to their rattled minds and exhausted bodies, but they knew they had to get up soon. After a few minutes, Leon loosened his grip around her and began to pull back.</p><p>“Ok. I guess we should go now,” he said trying to get up, but only got a whine in return.</p><p>“Ok, ok,” she grumbled while pulling away. On her way to standing up straight, she gave his cheek a quick peck then watched as he blushed a soft pink. </p><p>“What was that for?”</p><p>“Just for being you. And for the road,” she smiled before letting him go and turning towards the exit that would lead up to the station. Leon watched her with soft eyes as she reached for the T-bar handle and placed it back into the crank. He hopped off the box as she twisted it causing the statue base to open up to the main hall once again.</p><p>“So we can head back to the safe room to develop these films, then head to the S.T.A.R.S. office to get the badge. Or we could head back down to the sewers. You can choose,” she told him. He took a moment to think about it then nodded.</p><p>“Let’s finish what we started here then we can go back to the sewers. I think this will be the last time we’ll ever be here, so let’s make it count.”</p><p>“Then that’s what we’ll do. But we gotta be careful. We don’t know if Mr. X is still here or if the place is crawling with more zombies.” They took out their guns and looked at each other before giving a nod.</p><p>“Ready?”</p><p>“Ready.”</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Finding themselves back in the RPD, Leon and Veronica continue the search for parts to get to Ada. Will they be successful and rescue her, or will they become victims to the outbreak?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Veronica and Leon carefully made their way up into the main hall and found it to look like nothing had changed while they were gone. No new zombies were wandering about and they didn’t hear the thundering footsteps of the Tyrant walking around. Perhaps it had finally died in the explosion down in the parking garage. </p><p>They decided to go through the library on the second floor to get down to the save room since they remembered there was a licker now near the west office on the first floor. On the way there, they picked up the badge from the S.T.A.R.S. office and put the USB back into the badge. Their assumptions were correct when they got to the first floor since they could see the licker crawling around and hissing at a new licker that had joined it.</p><p>They carefully walked into the familiar safe room and locked the door. Veronica got to work on the two films and when she was done, they decided to go down to the locked box that required the badge. It was something to pass the time while the films developed. There was no trouble in getting back and with an insert of the badge, the case opened. Inside it was pieces to a long barrel for the magnum that made the gun deal more damage.</p><p>They didn’t think that they needed the badge anymore so they left it there. Leon added the pieces to his gun then reloaded it with the new ammo they had gotten. They went back to the safe room and found the photos have developed a great deal, at least enough to be discernible. One was the locker code to the third-floor locker and the other revealed that there were two hiding places in the station.</p><p>“I recognize this one. It’s the desk in the S.T.A.R.S. office, but I’m not sure where this is,” the young girl said as she held the photos up. Leon hummed as he looked at the other one then nodded.</p><p>“I know where that is. It’s in a room on the first floor east side.”</p><p>“Let’s go then!”</p><p>They quickly got to the S.T.A.R.S. office and went straight to the desk that she had laid on earlier in the evening. They began rummaging through the drawers to see if there was anything interesting and found a wooden box in one of the bottom drawers. Inside it was a red dot sight that allowed for faster aiming for the magnum.</p><p>“Very handy. No wonder someone wanted to hide it,” Leon said as he added it to his gun.</p><p>“Wait! What’s this?” his partner pointed out as she bent down to the drawer. She picked up another item and lifted it into view. It was another film. “‘Rising Rookie’?” she read the label. “This isn’t going to be you naked or something is it, rookie?” she arched an eyebrow. He chuckled at that.</p><p>“I hope not,” he smirked. “Why? Afraid you’ll see me naked?” She playfully swatted at his chest with a shake of her head.</p><p>“No! That’s for later,” she teased as she walked away. That seemed to catch him off guard as he trailed behind her. He cleared his throat at the sudden onslaught of dirty thoughts at the premise of 'later' and tried not thinking about them as they made their way back down to the safe room. He failed miserably. Veronica got the film set up, which they would return for after they went to the third-floor locker and to the other hiding place. It would give it time to develop.</p><p>On the third floor, they found the locker still sitting in the same spot and quickly unlocked it. Inside was a box full of magnum ammo for Leon to take, luckily enough. Once they were done, they made their way to the other side of the station towards the other hiding place. They were lucky enough to find some more ammo in a closet on the way there since they never really searched this section besides the office. They were also glad to not run into any new zombies.</p><p>They finally got to the room, finding no zombies around and found the desk drawer that was the next hiding place. Inside it was a canteen of fuel. They didn’t know what it was for, but they took it in case they needed to light up a monster. As they were making their way back, Leon remembered there was a safe they never opened in the waiting room on the second floor, so they went and did that first. They cracked it open and got a muzzle brake for Matilda that would help reduce the recoil. Back in the safe room, they found the picture developed and found themselves slightly disturbed.</p><p>The picture was of a young woman sitting criss-cross in a basketball court. She had her arms bent over her head in a provocative pose and she was wearing a green R.P.D. basketball uniform. Only, this uniform didn’t leave much to the imagination with the amount of peach-colored skin that was showing. She didn't look much older than they were. Clearly, this was meant to be hidden for a reason and the name on the label didn’t help. The pair looked at each other with slightly disturbed expressions.</p><p>“Uh…” Veronica tried saying but instead tossed the picture onto the floor. “Let’s...never say that we saw that ever again.”</p><p>“Agreed.” With all the supplies they could possibly get, they decided this was their final goodbye to the station. Once at the goddess statue, the pair looked one final time over the beautiful main hall then back at each other before heading under. They made their way back towards where they last left off in the sewers. As they rode the elevators, Veronica tied up her hair again before Leon handed her forgotten shotgun ammo he had taken near the beginning of their journey together as they prepared themselves.  </p><p>It felt like such a long way back, but they eventually made it. They decided to head down to the waterway where they first began to use the T-bar handle on the gate they had seen, but of course, it’s never easy. As soon as they were down there, they were met with a trio of zombies that were waiting in the water. With Leon’s shoulder pain subsiding a little bit, he was able to shoot with Matilda and knock out the undead. </p><p>The gate was up in no time and descending the long staircase, only brought them more misery. It was the bottom waterway and they had no other choice but to finally go in to get to the supplies storage room on the other side. Taking a deep breath, they climbed down the ladder into the dark depths of the room, finding the water just as terrible as its surroundings.</p><p>Rounding the first corner, they found themselves in a small alcove that was disconnected from the rest of the waterway. Slouched against the wall and atop a mound of garbage was a dead body sitting in the beam of a random light. Moths and flies already swarming the thing, which probably meant it was already dead. Near it was a green herb just randomly sitting close by. </p><p>As they went to grab it, some small popped through the man’s chest like an alien and dove into the water with a screech. They didn’t know where it went, but they didn’t want to find out, so they grabbed the herb then climbed onto a solid mound that led to the other side. It must have disappeared into the water, so who knows where it went.</p><p>“What the hell was that?!” Leon cried.</p><p>“It...it looked like one of those monster babies that the thing spits out.” Looking around, there were bodies of sewer workers lying around everywhere.</p><p>“Oh my god!”</p><p>“Let’s hurry and get out of here!” Veronica said crouching near the other edge. They jumped over to the other side and found the path leading forward. As they neared a corner, the groaning of those monsters grew louder and they came upon a familiar mound bobbing along the surface.</p><p>“Get ready to run back if it charges. If not, just run past it!” Leon said, taking out a grenade.</p><p>“That didn’t exactly work <em> last </em> time!”</p><p>“But we have more space <em> this </em> time. Trust me!” He pulled the pin and chucked the grenade at the mound causing it to bob up. It saw them but before it could charge, the grenade went off causing it to screech, so they took the moment to run past it. And this time it worked. They could hear it falling behind and they thought they could escape, but they were wrong. Instead, they ran straight into another one and it grabbed Veronica, picking her up off the floor.</p><p>Flashbacks went through her mind as she watched its head unfurl, but this time, she didn’t plan on getting poisoned again. She still had access to her hips, so she reached back and pulled out a grenade. She pulled the pin in time for the mouth to open and lunge at her like she remembered, but instead of holding it back, she shoved the grenade hand into its mouth. It held onto her hand as it sucked onto the grenade, but she was able to wiggle it out as it swallowed the small weapon. </p><p>It’s grip loosened on her while it was distracted and she was able to get free in time before the grenade went off. It finally exploded causing the monster to scream in pain and dive back into the water to swim away. Leon grabbed Veronica's hand and pulled her on the pathway forward. They barely made it to the platform to safety when they passed another monster crawling out of a giant sewer opening, but they made it regardless.</p><p>They ran through the door so fast and shut it behind them happy to be out of there. Taking a minute, they leaned against the metal door to catch their breath in front of a staircase that would lead up to the next room. Veronica frantically wiped her hand on the back of her shorts to get the slobber off and took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself.</p><p>“That was a close one!” she wheezed.</p><p>“Yeah. Too close!” </p><p>“We’re going to run out of grenades at this rate.”</p><p>“I’d rather we use them and run out then get poisoned,” Leon retorted as he led the way up the stairs. She followed behind while giving him a nod in agreement, still breathless. At the top of the staircase was a doorway that was open to a big room filled with boxes and a maze of iron gates. The pair walked in and around towards a staircase that went down into the room. This place was surely a doozy.</p><p> Once they were down on the ground floor, they realized that they were surrounded by many gates that required a key to open. With each gate, there was an electric box that required only the king and queen chess pieces to open them and not every gate was the same. </p><p>Luckily for them, those pieces were plugged into two of the gates, but they had to run around and place them in different gates in order to take a certain path. All while taking down a single zombie that was hanging over another set of stairs’ railing. This room really was a maze and a puzzle at the same time.</p><p>Searching around as they went, they found a red herb sitting on a high shelf just at the top of the stairs, a blue herb sitting in a random box, and another gun sitting in one of the gated sections of the room. It took some major maneuvering, but when they finally got to it, they found out it was a flamethrower! Suddenly the canteen of fuel they had found seemed to make sense. Someone knew about it and hid the fuel for safekeeping. <em> Finders keepers! </em></p><p>“So who should take the flamethrower?” Veronica asked. “I don’t really have the space to have it on me since I have the shotgun.” He thought about it for a minute then hung it over his good shoulder.</p><p>“I will. Here, let’s split these weapons even between us,” he responded while taking off the magnum holster from his leg. He handed it to her then reached into his pouch for the rest of the magnum ammo. “You can take the magnum. We’ll both have a handgun and a big gun. Besides, the magnum hurts my shoulder more than Matilda does.”</p><p>“Fair enough. How do I shoot this one? I’m only used to the shotgun.” He gave her some pointers and told her how to shoot with it since it was just a handgun.</p><p>“You’ll probably feel the recoil in your hands and arms more than you’re used to, but don’t let it scare you. You’ve now handled a lot worse!”</p><p>Once they were all settled, it took a few more times of maneuvering with the gates before they could finally leave the room with the chess plugs. They headed back the way they came and regrettably walked into the waterway. Already prepared with a grenade in hand, they carefully got back into the water and began their journey back to the other side.</p><p>They had come face to face with a monster and just chucked a grenade at it, too tired of the damn things getting in the way. Once it was stunned by the blast, they made a run for it, rushing past it cleanly. After climbing over some squishy mounds of flesh onto the other side where they had started, they were met with another one of the monsters waiting in the waters. It must have been that baby they saw and it had grown already to become an adult.</p><p>It took climbing onto the dry mound where the bodies were to quickly get around it and they made it to the ladder in record time. Veronica didn’t know if she had climbed a ladder so fast in her life, but it felt like she did. The pair took one final look over the bottom waterway then at each other in relief. They ran out of that room full of relief of having to never go back there again and happily made their way back to Ada.</p><p>Once they had reached the control room, they checked the windows to see if Ada was still there and found her beginning to stir from her nap in the same spot. The monster they had heard earlier hadn’t found a way in, thankfully. If anything, it must have left because they couldn't hear it anymore. </p><p>They ran over to the breaker boxes and took out the plugs that they had found to finally get the door open. Leon took a look at the corkboard and grabbed the written clue left behind. He read it aloud while Veronica listened so she could plug them in.</p><p>“‘Pretty sure the rook and knight are on the same wall and the bishop and queen aren’t next to each other. The queen and rook were opposite each other, too.”’</p><p>“Well for starters, the knight and pawn plugs are labeled, so…” she looked at the other boxes and took the other pieces that were plugged in out. She plugged in the knight and the pawn accordingly since the picture on the box helped her identify them. “So I’m assuming this is the bishop?” she said while holding up the strange-looking piece. </p><p>“Yes,” he replied, then he took the queen and the rook plugs. After a couple of tries with slightly different variations to the order, the door unlocked and swung open, the red light above it turning green.</p><p>“Yes! We did it!” Veronica exclaimed, excitedly.</p><p>“Ok...almost there, Ada,” Leon said before the pair ran through. It was dark as they descended the short staircase, the room only lit by red emergency lights. There were small piles of garbage lying around, clearly signs they were near the garbage room, but they did find a blue and green herb lying about. They turned the corner and found the giant concrete door still shut. There was a lever next to it which they pulled, but nothing happened.</p><p>“Dammit! Need the power on first,” Leon grumbled. He glanced around and noticed a door and a set of windows just across the room. Just from the windows, he could see that there was a breaker box inside. “Wait here! Once the power turns on, pull the lever!” he instructed before running toward the other room. </p><p>She waited by the lever for a couple of minutes, watching through the windows as he toyed around with the breaker. Finally, the lights flickered on around her and the red lights faded away. She gave the lever a pull and watched as the garbage room door began to slowly rise with a loud hum.</p><p>“Yes! It worked!” she shouted over to Leon signaling him to come back. She was about to crawl under the still rising door, but was stopped at the sight of Leon just reaching his own door through the window. Right when he was about to get to it, however, a giant claw stabbed through the ceiling, cutting him off and causing him to stumble back. </p><p>“LEON!” Veronica gasped as she ran over to the door, trying desperately to get it open, but it wouldn’t budge. The claw had caused it to bend near the top and jammed it into the frame. She tried kicking it down, but to no avail. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!”</p><p>“Jesus Christ!” </p><p>From where she stood, she could barely make out the claw making multiple jabs into the room while Leon ran around avoiding it. It even caused a small fire to break out on one side of the room, making her more worried for him. She could hear the thundering footsteps above them then finally the monster roared out in frustration. Leon backed into a corner that wasn’t on fire as the beast began destroying the gate that led inside the room.</p><p>“Fuck! LEON! I CAN’T GET IN!” she tried yelling, successful in grabbing his attention.</p><p>“IT’S OK! JUST GET TO ADA!” he shouted back, just in time for the monster to barge in. It was the monster they had fought in the basement of the police department and the one from the tape that they had watched. Only it looked different. The clothes it had leftover bulged at the seams even more so, if it had somehow remained on the body at all. The mass on its shoulder had grown exponentially and had sprouted a small face. The giant eye in its shoulder still looked menacingly at its surroundings.</p><p>“It’s still alive!?” he shouted and reached behind him for a flash grenade. She knew what he was going to do.</p><p>“WAIT! NO!”</p><p>“DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME! JUST FIND ADA!” he said before throwing the grenade causing a flash to go off in the room. </p><p>“BUT- LEON!” She watched helplessly as he took off and disappeared through the now open gateway with the monster on his trail. “Dammit!” She quickly turned and ran over to another door she had seen on the other side of the room, but found it locked on the other side. She pounded her fist against it in frustration. “UGH!”</p><p>“Veronica?” Ada called weakly from the trash room. Said girl turned as she remembered the agent and quickly ran in, finding a small trail of blood leading to a corner of the room. Following it, she found Ada cradling one of her thighs where a shard of metal had pierced her skin.</p><p>“Oh my god! Ada!” Veronica gasped, rushing to the agent’s side. She kneeled down and took a look at her thigh. The shard was thin and long, blood had already dried around the wound and the tear in her stocking was prominent. “Fuck that looks bad!”</p><p>“I can’t get it out,” Ada told her. “I need you to do it.”</p><p>“Are you sure? I don’t know if I should. It could bleed ou-.”</p><p>“Just do it. I can’t walk like this,” the older ordered exasperatedly. She reached into one of her pouches and brought out some gauze she had saved after treating Leon. Veronica sighed then took the gauze. She grasped the metal object and placed a hand on Ada’s thigh.</p><p>“Ok. One, two, three!” She quickly pulled it out causing Ada to grunt loudly in pain. Blood began to pool out of the wound so Veronica pressed the gauze to it as she tossed the sharp shard over onto the floor. She reached into a pouch and brought out her spray to use.</p><p>“I can do it myself,” the agent tried, but the other girl only shook her head.</p><p>“Just relax, ok? You helped me with Leon. It’s the least I can do!” She gave the agent a moment to prepare herself before spraying it onto the wound. She didn’t need to use much since it was a small wound, but it didn’t hurt any less.</p><p>While Ada hissed between her teeth, Veronica looked around for something to keep the gauze in place before looking at her shirt. The bottom half was covered in sewage but the top half was still dry. She pulled at the button placket of her flannel with both hands causing buttons to pop off and revealing the black tank top underneath. She took out her knife and cut a long strip off the placket off her shirt. With it off, she used it to tie the gauze in place tightly.</p><p>“There! How did this even happen?”</p><p>“I ran into Annette.”</p><p>“Jesus. What happened to her?”</p><p>“She got away,” she replied while trying to get onto her knees, but failed as the pain hit her.  “Where’s Leon?”</p><p>“I don’t know. We just got separated by a monster. I couldn’t go after him,” Veronica responded, worry written all over her face as she glanced over at the door. Once she turned her head back, she found the agent giving her a knowing look.</p><p>“You really care about the guy, don’t you?” That question seemed to take Veronica off guard.</p><p>“Of course I do! He’s my friend!”</p><p>“You know that’s not what I mean.” The younger blushed lightly before giving a small nod. “I figured as much. Not that I blame you.”</p><p>“Is it that obvious?” Veronica asked before biting her lip. Ada scoffed before smirking softly.</p><p>“It would take a true idiot to not see it. But it also doesn’t take a genius to see that he really cares about you too,” Ada replied, her smirk melting into a soft smile, Veronica mirroring it back. "To be honest with you, I'm surprised you came back for me."</p><p>“Of course, Ada! Why wouldn’t we?” Ada winced at a pang of pain before sighing.</p><p>“You’ve seen the cable car. You could’ve found an ID bracelet and carried on the mission without me. Or found another way out of this place considering how bad things look.” Veronica shook her head, flabbergasted by the notion. </p><p>“We would never leave you behind! I wouldn’t allow it! You’re with us now!” she told the agent before sighing herself.  “I’m sorry it took us so long to get to you! We hit some roadblocks on the way here.” Realizing how much Veronica cared for her, a total stranger, Ada's eyes softened. </p><p>“I’m just glad you came at all. I’m not really used to that in my missions.”</p><p>“Well, get used to it!” the brunette smiled</p><p>“VEE?! ADA!? WHERE ARE YOU?!” Leon suddenly called out from the door.</p><p>“We’re over here!” Ada responded. The young man ran around the bend, finally seeing them in their little hidden corner.</p><p>“Leon!” Veronica got onto her feet and tackled the officer into a hug.</p><p>“Oof! Quite the welcome party here!” he joked as he hugged her back. She pulled back and looked him over.</p><p>“I was really worried! What happened to the monster?”</p><p>“I was able to lose him. I used a crane to knock him out. Let’s hope that’s the last of him.”</p><p>“I sure as hell hope so too. You hurt anywhere?”</p><p>“No. I managed to dodge the damn thing before it could sink its claw into me.”</p><p>“Thank god!” Leon nodded then finally looked over at Ada who was still sitting on the floor.</p><p>“Ada! You alright? I was getting worried there for a sec,” he said, kneeling at her side and taking a look at his partner's handiwork. </p><p>“Don’t worry. Veronica patched me up, but it still hurts like a bitch.”</p><p>“Fair enough. Good job, Vee,” he said before sighing and glancing around the room. “So...what do we do now?” Ada closed her eyes for a moment before looking at the other two survivors.</p><p>“Get yourselves out of here. While you still can,” Both Veronica and Leon looked at her in disbelief.</p><p>“We’re not just going to leave you. Not like this,” Leon responded.</p><p>“Like I said. We are not leaving you behind!” Veronica added. Ada only shook her head, swallowing as she dealt with the pain shooting up her leg.</p><p>“You guys don’t understand. The situation’s worse than I thought.”</p><p>“You’re not getting rid of us that easy. You protected us and helped me when I was injured," Leon told her, tone softening at the end of his statement.</p><p>“Now, it’s our turn,” Veronica said as she crouched down, joining the other two on the floor. Ada smiled softly as she tried to fight the chuckle she let out.</p><p>“Didn’t realize we were keeping score.” The other two smiled back before helping the agent up onto her feet.</p><p>“Grab my shoulder,” Leon tried to offer, but Ada only scoffed and pulled her arm away.</p><p>“Don’t push it, rookie.” </p><p>“Ok. Just trying to help,” he replied, lifting his hands away. “Watch your step.” Veronica had to bite her lip to keep from giggling at the awkward exchange. They all moved away from their little corner and stood in the center of the room.</p><p>“You want to help? We have to get to the NEST.”</p><p>“NEST?”</p><p>“Umbrella’s lab. Right beneath us.”</p><p>“Vee, you were right about the lab,” the young man pointed out to his partner.</p><p>“Annette let it slip. That’s where the virus samples are,” Ada continued. She eyed the both of them in a playfully challenging way. “You up for this?” The pair looked at each other with similar smirks, already knowing the answer, before turning back to Ada.</p><p>“I think we can fit it in our schedule,” Leon stated. Ada nodded then began hobbling towards the door, with the two not far behind.</p><p>“Come on, we got work to do.”</p><p>“Yes, ma’am.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After rescuing Ada from the garbage room, the trio begins their journey down to NEST. As their journey comes close to an end, what atrocities await them in Umbrella's lab?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The trio of survivors slowly made their way out of the garbage room and headed towards the control room. It took them a solid minute since Ada had to limp as she walked. Frankly, no one in the room could say that they were feeling totally fine considering their injuries.</p><p>“The cable car’ll take us down to NEST. This wristband’s our ticket to ride,” Ada told them, lifting up her wrist for the others to see. It was a silver wristband with a glowing green chip on the front.</p><p>“Nice. Where’d you get that?” Leon asked.</p><p>“Borrowed it. Anyway, we’re almost there.” They had made it out of the control room when Ada stopped moving with a groan. “Urgh...this damn leg.” Leon turned to walk over, but Ada raised her hand up to stop him.</p><p>“Let me carry you,” he offered.</p><p>“No. That’d only make me feel worse,” she said as she started walking again. The other two looked at each other before doing the same. For a couple of minutes, they walked in silence, unsure of what to even say at that point. Once they were on the other side of the platform, Ada looked over at the young man. “How’s the shoulder?”</p><p>“Worse than it looks.”</p><p>“What a pair. Both got one foot in the grave.”</p><p>“That actually makes the three of us,” he said nodding over to Veronica. Ada looked at her confusingly. Said girl lifted the back of her shirt high enough to show the bandages.</p><p>“Got scratched by a licker. I guess with all of our injuries combined, we make a whole body,” she joked dryly. Finally making it to the cable car, the door beeped and slid open in response to the bracelet Ada wore, allowing the trio to walk in. It was a metal car with control panels on either end and a window peering through the front and back. In the middle of the car was a bench to sit on, which Ada took the complete opportunity to do.</p><p>“This may be a one-way ride. So be prepared. If there’s anything you need to do before we leave, now’s the chance,” Ada told them as she rested against the wall. The other pair looked at each other as they thought about it.</p><p>“Should we check to see if we left anything behind? Maybe there was something useful we can take before heading down to NEST,” Veronica asked her partner.</p><p>“I don’t really see why not. Let’s check the map one last time.” They did just that and found that most of everything had been taken or done with, except for one thing. They had forgotten about a locker in the control room on the second floor.</p><p>“There could be something useful in it considering that it’s locked up,” Veronica shrugged,</p><p>“But we would have to circle around to get it. We would just be wasting time.” Veronica took a moment to think about it for a moment before nodding to herself.</p><p>“Not necessarily. If we use one of the tables or chairs, we could climb onto the lift and then you could give me a boost up from the first-floor control room...unless your shoulder hurts too much.” </p><p>“Did we even find the code for it?”</p><p>“I don’t know. I guess not.” He thought about everything they had been through when he suddenly remembered something. </p><p>“Wait! I think we did! That jazz flyer!” he told her while taking out his small booklet, flipping through the pages. "There were three letters circled on it. It might just be it!”</p><p>“Possibly! Should we go?” Leon took her idea into consideration before agreeing.</p><p>“I think as long as I use my other shoulder, I should be fine. Let’s just be quick about it.” While Ada waited in the car, Veronica and Leon quickly ran back to the control room and began looking around the room for things to use to get up to the lift. They dragged over the big black box to sit under the lift then put a chair on top of that. Veronica climbed up first then Leon after her.</p><p>Once they were on the lift,  Leon cupped his hands together and bent down so that Veronica could be lifted up to the first floor. Since the room was still empty, Leon waited on the lift as Veronica inspected the locker. He told her the letters he had found and to her surprise, it worked. The lock popped off and the locker opened to reveal a full box of magnum ammo.</p><p>“Oh hell yeah!” the young girl exclaimed as she put them in her pouch before jumping down. They quickly ran back to the cable car when Leon suddenly stopped right outside by the table where they found the T-bar. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>“I just remembered...Claire,” he said while finding a random paper on the desk. Taking out a pen, he began writing a short note for Claire in case she had made it down there. Veronica decided to leave the T-bar and the sewer map near it in case Claire would need it. When he was done, they both jumped into the cable car and with a pull of a switch, the car jerked with a start. Slowly but surely, it began its journey down to NEST.</p><p>“This tram is bound for NEST. Do not exit until the final destination,” the automated voice said above them. The trio sighed with relief, taking these next few minutes to rest after all the shit they had been through. Leon was staring out the window thinking when Veronica walked up to him.</p><p>“Hey, how are you holding up?” she asked him softly. He turned his head towards her and sighed. It had been a while since they had really checked up on each other.</p><p>“I’m hanging in there. Just really tired and sore,” he responded while rubbing at his shoulder. </p><p>“Hm. Here, lemme take a look at it,” she nodded to his bandages. He didn’t object as he turned to face her so that she could peek at his wound.</p><p>“Well, you haven’t bled through yet, but the bandages are really dirty from the sewer.”</p><p>“I figured as much. I’m sure yours aren’t great either.”</p><p>“Should I spray you down or…?”</p><p>“No. We need to conserve what first aid stuff we have. Once we’re out of this city, we can use what’s left to fix ourselves up.” She nodded in agreement while looking up at his face. There was a new cut on his cheek that looked rather new. </p><p>“You got a good cut here. Did you get this from fighting the monster back there?” she asked as she reached a hand up to gently turn his head a little so she could see it better.</p><p>“Probably. It wasn’t exactly an easy fight. That thing mutated into something worse and he was harder to put down. Is it bleeding?”</p><p>“A little bit, but not really. Can I put some herbs on it?”</p><p>“You can if you want.” She quickly reached behind her and pulled out the herb bag to use. While rubbing the dust onto the cut, he sighed as he watched her do so.</p><p>“How about you? How are you doing?”</p><p>“I’m...doing about the same I think. I could really use a nap right now.”</p><p>“Me too,” he said while reaching into the bag and taking out a small pinch of the herbs. She was expecting him to eat it like the last time but was taken by surprise when he reached for her instead. She stopped what she was doing once his fingers reached her bottom lip and felt him rub the dust along a small spot.</p><p>“What is it?” she asked once he pulled away, only for his hand to remain close to cup her cheek. Blood rushed up to her cheeks as he gently dragged his thumb across the skin. She couldn’t help but lean into his touch despite how nervous she felt in the moment.</p><p>“It was just a cut on your lip. I think you split the skin on accident.”</p><p>“Oh….Thank you. I guess I haven’t exactly been using lip balm to battle chapped lips,” she smiled while reaching up to feel where he put it. There was indeed a split near the corner of her mouth and the rest of her lips didn’t feel too great either. She was just too focused on everything else that she didn’t realize it.</p><p>“We’ll get you some when we get out of here. I’m gonna need some too,” he told her before dropping his hand. She giggled, eyes flicking to his lips to confirm that he needed it as well.</p><p>“Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to share with you, rookie.” He smiled at that and then the two of them turned to look out the window. They stood there quiet for a moment as they watched the car continue downward into the winding darkness that was the tunnel. </p><p>“It feels like things are coming to a head soon. It’s kinda scary when you think about it. Like...what else are we going to face down here?” she spoke, voice barely above a whisper. An arm wrapped around her shoulders comfortingly and pressed her closer to him. She didn’t fight it and leaned into his embrace.</p><p>“It is scary. I’m even a little scared, but we’re going to figure this out and finally get out of this place. You and me,” he smiled reassuringly down at her causing her to look back up and mirror him. After a moment, they both looked back out of the window and grew serious again. Despite the determination they had inside of themselves to live, they didn’t know for sure whether they would. It was nerve wracking.</p><p>Out of the silence, a quiet hiss caught Veronica's attention and turned to the other survivor in the car with them. Ada was leaning against the wall where she sat with her eyes closed. She could tell she was focusing on getting past the pain. Leon dropped his arm so that she could walk over to her to see how she could help. </p><p>“Ada? You ok?” Ada just shook her head telling Veronica that she was fine. All that the brunette could do was give her some pain pills to help her deal with it. After a moment of silence between the three, Leon turned to the girls, his face full of determination.</p><p>“You know what I was thinking? I can’t wait for the FBI to raid Umbrella headquarters and take those bastards to justice.”</p><p>I agree...but to be clear, you’re not working in official capacity. This is a federal case. Once we get the G-Virus, I’m back on my own,” the agent told the two of them. Leon scoffed bitterly and turned to look back out the window while Veronica stared at her in disbelief.</p><p>“Ada, you can’t be serious?!” the brunette retorted. Ada shook her head then sighed loudly to stop them from trying to disagree.</p><p>“Hey, guys...Trust me?” Leon turned and quickly went to stand in front of the girls.</p><p>“You trust me? Trust us?” he gestured to both him and his partner. Ada scoffed softly, looking Leon in the eye as she said the next sentence.</p><p>“Honestly...If I didn’t you’d both probably be dead.” That seemed to hurt the pair a little on the inside. Veronica turned her head to look down at her sewage covered shoes, with a small frown. She knew it wasn’t personal, but it still sucked to hear. Both Leon and Ada noticed this which seemed to upset him more.</p><p>“Right,” he nodded before reaching down for his partner’s arm. She let him gently pull her up and followed him as he walked back towards the front of the car. Ada seemed to panic at the response she was getting and tried to back-peddle.</p><p>“Look, I thought I might need both of your help...and I was right. If you can secure the G-Virus, I can make sure what happened in Raccoon City never happens again,” she pleaded to them. They both turned feeling confused by the mix signals and walked back over. Leon took a seat next to the agent to face her directly.</p><p>“Ada...You said it yourself- it’s a federal case. I-.”</p><p>“Leon, look at me,” she stopped him while looking down at her injured leg. “I’m a liability now. If I’m going to finish this case, you’re the last hope I’ve got.”</p><p>“We’re not just gonna leave you here.”</p><p>Yeah! What if you’re attacked, what if you need help-,” Veronica tried to say, but was interrupted by Ada taking both of their hands.</p><p>“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me,” she told them, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “I gotta see this through...and I want to see you both again.” She glanced between the both of them with a friendly smile. “Alive and as a friend, not as a government agent. I got plenty to live for. Trust me.” Veronica opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by the intercom.</p><p>“Now arriving at NEST.” They all looked out of the window and realized it was right. The car was beginning to slow at the end of the track towards a platform. Ada frantically pulled at her wristband and held it out for Leon to take.</p><p>“Go. Please. We don’t have much time. You’re going to need this,” she told him. He took it then looked up at her unsure of how to feel about the situation.</p><p>“Ok,” he said before standing up and heading towards the door. “Let’s go, Vee.” The pair reached the door watching it slide open. Just before they stepped out, Ada called for them.</p><p>“I’m counting on you two.” They nodded in response.</p><p>“We know,” Veronica said before they walked out onto the platform. The door slid shut behind them, leaving Ada to rest in the cable car. They made their way across the platform while feeling a little somber at the idea of leaving Ada behind, but they pulled through knowing they had a mission to do. Passing by piles of cargo and the sheer dropoff into the darkness of the tunnel they were in, they found themselves standing face to face with a large electronic gate.</p><p>Leon placed the ID wristband around his wrist and watched as the gate authorized their entry. The green screen flashed that the visitor pass that they had, had given them access and began lifting the gate. They noticed the chip in the bracelet matched the screen, so they knew which doors to go through.</p><p>“For your safety, stand clear until the doors are fully open,” the automated voice repeatedly said while the gate rose, revealing another behind that and another behind that. The survivors took out their guns and prepared themselves. Veronica looked over at her partner and he looked back.</p><p>“Ready, rookie?” She held out her fist for him with a smirk.</p><p>“Ready,” he smirked back and bumped fists with hers. </p><p>“Let’s do this.” They stood and watched as the final gate began rising, but something seemed to go wrong. Sparks flew as it jerked vertically trying to open, but to no avail. Hoping that the door won't close on them, the pair quickly ran in and found themselves at the entrance to the Umbrella facility. </p><p>The lights flickered on revealing the brightly lit and sterile atmosphere of the reception area. With the lack of colors and the strange smell of chemicals, it almost felt like a hospital. The Umbrella Corp. logo was planted on the wall behind the large reception desk which was empty. They kind of hoped there would be scientists running around trying to fix the problems that were up in Raccoon City, but they weren’t surprised to see the place deserted. </p><p>“Welcome to NEST. Enjoy your visit,” the automated voice said in the intercom. The survivors looked at each other then began searching the room. There were four doors in the room, one of them being behind the reception desk and it was left open. Leon checked the only working computer at said desk while Veronica took a look at said room. Inside was a typewriter sitting on a table, which was weird considering there were three computers at the front desk, lots of scattered paperwork, and a box. the same kind they had seen all over the police station. These places really were connected.</p><p>“Find anything?” she asked her partner once she was done looking for anything that could be of use. </p><p>“Just a nap room log was accessible.”</p><p>“How riveting. Anything interesting?” she inquired sarcastically.</p><p>“Just that a Wayne Li never left. So either he forgot to clock out or he’s still in there.”</p><p>Another door was labeled the ‘Security Room’ and opened to a room that looked between a break room, an office, and a security room. There was a bed sitting against the wall and there were desks covered in meaningless stuff just lying around. They were able to find a forgotten box of shotgun ammo and the map to the north end of the facility on the desk facing a bunch of broken security camera monitors. They were either out entirely or just streaming static.</p><p>“Ok...I wonder where the G-Virus is?” Leon questioned as they left the room. They tried walking to the door on the far side of the room that, according to the map, would lead to the rest of the facility, but remained locked. The screen was a baby blue color and as soon as they drew close it flashed a red ‘Access Denied’ across it.</p><p>“Authorized staff only beyond this point. Guests must refrain from entering,” the automated voice informed them. Leon looked down at his wristband then at his partner.</p><p>“I guess we’re technically still guests.”</p><p>“So what do we do?” He glanced around the room and spotted the last door near the gate they had come in from. Taking the map out to look at, Leon came up with an idea. He didn’t know if it would work, but it was worth a shot.</p><p>“We should go see if Mr. Li would like some visitors.” While still in a safe room, they took a moment to check themselves for inventory and tossed things they didn’t need anymore, like old maps and irrelevant tools, etc. When they were finally ready, they made their way to the door and took out their guns. Carefully creaking the door open, it opened to a pitch dark hallway that smelled like blood. </p><p>“I don’t like the look of this,” Veronica muttered as they walked in while taking out their flashlights. As they drew closer to the end of the hall, they noticed a sign on the wall pointing them towards the cafeteria. Below it, there was a window that peeked into said place but was hard to see through due to the design etched on it.</p><p>Turning the corner, they were met with the sight of where the smell was coming from. Blood was splattered across the walls and all over the floor. It wasn’t fresh, but it wasn’t old either. Turning the next corner, they could hear the sound of zombies growling and eating coming from the room next to them. The door to it was for guests to access, but the nap room was through the other door at the end of the hall. Unfortunately for them, that door required the blue chip.</p><p>Leon peaked through the window of the cafeteria via a clear spot on the glass and checked the room for a way through. Just on the other side of the room was a ladder that was lit up by an emergency light and it led up to the vents. </p><p>“Maybe we could use that and climb around,” he suggested.</p><p>“But how many zombies are inside?”</p><p>“Honestly, I can’t really tell. I think I see one standing around, but it’s worth a shot of getting through if we want to move forward.” Taking a deep breath, they stood near the door and watched it slide open. The lone zombie Leon had seen, spotted them and began stumbling towards them. Deciding to make good use of the magnum, Veronica made a lucky shot to the head and watched it explode.</p><p>“Whoa!” she blinked. The recoil was a little more intense than she thought, but it wasn’t worse than the shotgun.</p><p>“Nice shot! Let’s go!” Leon led the way through the small cafeteria, picking up bullets, a grenade, and a random canteen of fuel all the while the couple dodged three other zombies. They climbed the ladder in time for those things to get onto their feet and eventually they forgot about them. </p><p>Once in the vent, they followed the open pathway that led towards the kitchen. At the end of the vent, they dropped down into it easily and found a large can of gunpowder and an extra knife. While the zombies in the dining room hadn’t noticed them yet since they could see into the kitchen, they quietly got to the door that would lead them towards the nap room.</p><p>The door slid open to another blood-splattered hallway and a zombie in tactical gear standing in the corner unbeknownst to their company. Leon took it upon himself to sneak up behind it and stab his knife in the zombie’s head to save ammo. With that zombie down, the hallway was clear leading up to the nap room door, which lucky for them, they could access. </p><p>Walking in, they were met with a smaller room that had three gated up nap beds lined on the wall. In the middle bed, a hand was stuck out and jutted under the gate with blood spattered along the wall. A blue light from the slightly ajar gate caught their attention and picking it up, they found out it was the chip they needed.</p><p>“I guess Mr. Li never left after all,” Leon said as he changed out the chips on the bracelet. She kept the green chip in case she ever needed it as backup.</p><p>“I guess not,” Veronica responded as she looked at a contraption on the far wall with her flashlight. “What is this thing?”</p><p>It looked like an electric box composed of a bunch of wires, a large square space meant for something to be plugged into it and a set of letters just above it spelling MUF. There was a picture on the space that looked like it was the mechanism they needed to plug it in with. <em> Helpful. </em></p><p>“Not sure, maybe it gets the power going. Only one way to find out is to find the thing,” her partner responded. They picked up some shotgun ammo off a desk and, to their surprise, a flamethrower regulator from one of the lockers on the other side of the room. They weren’t sure as to why it was there, but they didn’t question it as they added it to the flamethrower.</p><p>Since they were now done with that entire area and they had what they needed, they quickly made their way back towards the reception area. As they drew close, the automated voice spoke out for the man the chip came from.</p><p>“Dr. Li, your presence is urgently requested by Chief Cartwright in the East Area.”</p><p>“Well, unfortunately, Dr. Li won’t be able to make it,” the brunette joked as the door slid open.  </p><p>Walking out, they were taken aback by the sight of the facility. The pair stared in awe at the immense size of the place. The cement ceiling stood high above them with many bright lights shining down on them. Peering over the edge of the platform, it gave Leon a serious case of vertigo. It looked like it could go down for miles, disappearing into a black abyss. It looked like something out of an alien movie, like it was area-51.</p><p>"Holy shit!" they both said in unison.</p><p>From where they stood, they could see an elevator shaft sitting in the middle of the room on the middle platform as well as the two other areas to the facility: the East and West areas on opposite sides. It was cold in that large room, but they weren't surprised. They couldn't imagine there being a functioning heater due to its immense size. It was chilly enough for Veronica to take down her hair to keep her neck warm.</p><p>On the small platform they were on, there was a machine with the same blue screen as their chip and a button on it. Considering that there was no way to cross towards the middle platform, they figured it must activate some sort of path. And they were right. With a press of the button, a metal bridge stretched out and connected the two platforms.</p><p>Before crossing it, they also noticed a body of a soldier similar to what they saw down in the sewers, slouched against the railing on the opposite side of their platform. Deciding to take a look at it, they saw a recorder sitting on the floor by the body. Leon picked it up and pressed play. The voice that spoke was of a muffled man’s voice, one they had never heard before.</p><p>“Alpha to Ghost. Target moving to the West Area. Must be going to retrieve the G-Virus, and antiviral agent.”</p><p>“This is Ghost. Understood. Rendevous at Point W-3,” another man’s voice replied.</p><p>“Roger.” There was a pause before he spoke again. “This is Alpha. Arrived at destination.”</p><p>“Understood. Stand by for target.” Another pause.</p><p>“This is Alpha. I’ve got eyes on the target. He’s going to open the safe.”</p><p>“Roger. Awaiting the signal,” a different voice replied.</p><p>“Got eyes on the G-Virus.”</p><p>“We’re going in.”</p><p>“Doctor Birkin, you’ll come along with us quietly,” the voice of Ghost could be heard saying in the background before the recording ended. They clearly found their target. Putting down the recorder, Leon nodded over towards the area on the right.</p><p>“G-Virus is in the West Area...Got it,” he recounted. The pair quickly made it across the bridge and around the elevator. They quickly realized that they would need a pink, top-level pass to take it if need be. They also found out they would need a tier higher chip that was a dark blue color to get to the West Area.</p><p>“Let’s hope they have one lying around in the East Area,” Veronica said as she pointed out the mechanism to get to said area was accessible to them. With a push of a button, the bridge slid out and they quickly crossed over with a new objective in mind. </p><p>The first room they were met with was brightly lit and smelled like an odor they had never smelled before. There were flies buzzing around a pipe that had broken, releasing the smelly air into the room. There were two doors, but unfortunately, the path on the right was partially destroyed, leaving them the only option of taking the left door. </p><p>Passing through, they found a large waiting room with a couple rows of black leather chairs on one side and what looked to be a nursing station on the other. The medicine cabinet on the wall was thrashed, medicine bottles lying around on desks and on the floor. They luckily found some medical supplies lying in unopened drawers that they could use for later on their current wounds. Besides that, and amongst everything, there was a green herb and a gunpowder can that they picked up before trying the doors out of there. </p><p>One door was locked from the other side, but the other slid open to a horrendous sight. While the room they walked into was completely normal, the giant plant monstrosity that could be seen through the wall lengthed windows in it was not. Pressed against the glass was a man in a yellow hazard suit by a giant plant-like creature. His face was frozen in a silent scream of fear, but it didn’t take much to realize he was dead.</p><p>Walking up to it, they noticed the glass was shattered but was somehow able to stay intact. The plant part was thick and it looked like a mouth was pushing the man against the window. The plant wasn’t moving either, but they remained cautious. “Jesus….What happened here?” Leon questioned, the both of them stuck staring in horror. Peeking into the room that the plant was is, they realized it was a giant greenhouse, filled to the brim with other plants, trees, and vines that slithered up the walls. The ecosystem in their had taken over.</p><p>“Plants...We have to worry about plants now?” his partner whispered in irritation, unable to tear her gaze away. Finally processing the image in front of them, they noticed a purple light coming from the man’s wrist.</p><p>“The ID chip!”</p><p>“Can’t we just look for a wristband that’s just lying around?” Veronica asked, nervous to face the horrors of the greenhouse.</p><p>“That would be easier, wouldn’t it? Let’s keep looking, but if we have to, we’ll have to take that one.”</p><p>“Ok. Fair enough. Well, we know where it is, but how would we get it?”</p><p>“Not sure yet. C’mon, let’s keep moving.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Veronica and Leon had made their way towards the East Area only to find a greenhouse of hell waiting for them. Now they need to somehow get the ID chip for the West Area to get the G-Virus.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The room they were in was wide and relatively empty save for a few benches and a monitor that required the chip they needed to access it. They realized now that the room they were in was a viewing room. There was a door on the other side that tried to slide open but seemed to struggle with a loud hiss. Vines had crept across the door, keeping it shut, but eventually, they were pried off the more the door slid open. </p><p>The hallway they came across was very dimly lit and narrow. It was covered in vines and it reeked. Like the smell from when they first walked into the area only it was concentrated in a small space. There were scientific pieces of equipment lining shelves that were a mess as they were entangled in the plants. Shining a flashlight up near the ceiling, there was a body hanging that was being held up by the vines. Only, it didn’t look like any normal body that they had ever seen.</p><p>It looked like a human body fused with the plants. There were vines and leaves sprouting all over it and covered parts of the body. The face was like a skull with its hollowed-out eyes and its mouth seemed to split down the middle with sharp teeth in its wake. It was like the plants had completely taken over.</p><p>They passed it quietly, in hopes, it wouldn’t move and were relieved that it didn’t. On a cart, they found some more gunpowder and were about to move on when the sound of a mix between gurgling and clicking caught the two survivors’ attention. From the pathway they were about to go through, one of those plant bodies that was lying on the floor began to get up as it noticed their presence.</p><p>“What the fuck!?” Veronica hissed. Leon took out his gun and began shooting at the thing. Nothing seemed to stop it till one of the bullets hit one of the many orange orbs on the zombie’s body. “Aim for those!” It took a little maneuvering in the cramped room since the thing moved eerily quick, but they were able to knock it down.</p><p>However, much to their disappointment, the body was still moving even on the floor. They watched as vines were slithering across the body towards the injured parts. Not wanting to stick around to see what happens, they quickly ran out of there and into what looked like the greenhouse control room. </p><p>Many of the computers didn’t look like they worked, except for a machine with a glowing yellow light at the top and a keypad with symbols on the buttons below a monitor. On the said monitor, there was a map of the greenhouse and there were two areas that were labeled as locked. Meaning that there were two doors they could go through.</p><p>Right where they ran in, there was a counter in the middle of the room that had a flash grenade that Leon took since his partner was still stocked up. Walking up to the machine with the yellow light, they realized it was beeping because whatever it was made for, had an action implemented. It must have been on some sort of timer because it began to do something. </p><p>“Dispensing solution now,” the automated voice stated over the intercom. </p><p>“Wait, what solution?” the brunette questioned as they watched the sprinkler systems spray the solution over the greenhouse. Nothing else seemed to happen with the plants, which probably meant it was helping the monstrous things grow. A few moments later, a dispersal cartridge was ejected out of the machine, allowing for the girl to take. It was now empty and could probably hold something else inside.</p><p>“We might need that. Keep it on you,” her partner informed her. They went back to the monitor to take a look at the map of the greenhouse. The two areas that were locked were in a drug testing lab that was just around the corner from the control room and a ladder just down the path from that. It seemed simple enough. But when were things ever simple in Raccoon City?</p><p>Deciding on the drug testing lab first since it was closest, they walked out into the greenhouse and regretted it immediately. The odor they had smelled from the entirety of the area was even more intense in the room. </p><p>Looking up among the plants, they could see countless dead bodies hanging around, many being turned into plant monsters. That’s when they realized what the smell was. It was a combination of the stench of decaying bodies and the mustiness of plants.</p><p>“I’ve heard of the urban legend that humans would make great plant fertilizer, but this is next level,” Veronica muttered as they carefully walked down the metal steps into the room. They turned a corner to head towards the way they needed to go and saw one of those plant zombies near where the ladder was. It hadn't spot them yet, so they quickly ran into the drug testing lab before it could. </p><p>Luckily for them, the room was empty and deemed safe once in it. There was only one body inside that was in a yellow hazmat suit, but they presumed it as fully dead. The room was brightly lit and still clean, but their search for an ID chip was futile. It was beginning to look like they were going to have to get it from the man who is being held up by the giant plant. </p><p>They did, however, find something interesting that could help them with that. It was a Herbicide Synthesis protocol sheet. Its purpose was to inform people on how to kill the plants in the greenhouse in case of an emergency. Leon picked it up and read over it before handing it to his partner to look at.</p><p>“Plant 43, huh?” she questioned.</p><p>“Looks like that dispenser is going to come in handy just like I thought. We can use it to kill the plant and get the chip.”</p><p>“But it’s asking for ‘the required amount of UMB No. 21’? I don’t know about you, but I failed Chemistry in high school.”</p><p>“Well, it has to be in here, right? We can figure it out!” He glanced around the room and noticed a machine that was gated up in the corner. There was a red light on at the top and next to it was a combination of symbols that looked like the ones they saw on the keypad in the control room. It must be the code for opening the gate. Only, the last two symbols were scratched off leaving them a little helpless.</p><p>“That must be it. Maybe we can find the code somewhere around here? We still have to go down the ladder.” Taking one more look over the room, they found a grenade and a large gunpowder can then walked back out into the greenhouse.  They carefully peeked around the corner to see what the path looked like to the ladder and found the plant zombie they saw earlier still standing close by.</p><p>Leon took out his gun and began shooting from behind the wall.  Once it was finally knocked back, the duo ran for the ladder, only to find it shut and locked! There was a code written on the top that had Veronica stumbling for a pen, but was interrupted halfway by another zombie crawling up onto its feet from the floor. Doing her best to crudely write what she saw, they booked it back to the control room and to the keypad to unlock the ladder. </p><p>The code the girl wrote was messy, but it was the best she could do in a short amount of time. It took a few tries to figure out the last symbol, but eventually, the system okayed the code given and unlocked the ladder. After a quick reload of his gun, Leon led the way out only to find the zombies closer than they thought. He was about to shoot when his partner grabbed his arm. </p><p>"This way! We'll go around!" she urged, leading them down the center path of the room. Looping around, they were able to make it past the zombies and to the ladder safely. The horrible clicking sound they heard heading their way just as they were descending down was terrifying. But they both made it down in the nick of time. </p><p>At the bottom of the ladder, they found themselves in a small underground pipe room. It was narrow and dark, but clear of any dangers. Peering around the ladder, they found a table sitting at one end of the room. On it was a map to the East Area, which they were in, and a large can of gunpowder. They decided to use this moment to make more ammo for themselves and to check up on their inventory. While looking over the map, they realized there was a door on the other side of the room that led to more parts of the lab that they didn’t see upstairs. </p><p>“Just how big is this place? It feels like it never ends,” Veronica whispered, unsure of whether something could be waiting in the shadows. They couldn’t be too careful.</p><p>“Who knows. We still have a whole area waiting for us besides this one,” he paused as he studied the map. “Looks like there’s a stairwell just on the other side of this next room. It’ll loop us back to the waiting room and then we can head back to the control room without having to go back through the greenhouse.”</p><p>With a gameplan in mind, they finished packing everything up and then began making their way to the door on the other side of the room. Leon cracked it open a smidge then walked in first with his partner behind him. The place was dark, barely lit by emergency lights dotted around the room. According to the map, this was a lounge, but it was also connected to a server room and low temp lab.</p><p>The server room was the first room they encountered, but the door was locked since it was an electronic door and the electricity was out in this part of the building. They carefully crept towards the lounge and found the bodies of scientists lying dead around the floor. There was blood splattered everywhere and part of the ceiling looked like it had been torn through. Surveying the long scratch marks on the wall, they could tell it was the work of lickers. Knowing that, they were put on edge as they searched around the room. </p><p>Taking any precautions they had, they used knives to destroy the brains of any of the bodies they came across, as well as checking their wristbands for the chip they needed. Unfortunately, none of them had what they needed and the option of getting it from the greenhouse was becoming more of a possibility. </p><p>While searching the room, they found some shotgun ammo, a green herb, and to their surprise, a trophy. Veronica picked it up, curious as to what it was for. It was gold and shaped like a DNA helix. She rotated it to try and read the plaque when something on the bottom of it caught her eye. Turning it upside down, she found a familiar-looking code.</p><p>“Well, what do you know?” she muttered, turning it to Leon so that he could see. </p><p>“We might just be able to pull this off,” he said while he pulled out the little book and quickly wrote the code down for later. After setting it down, Leon gestured to an electric box in the corner of the room. </p><p>“It’s like the one in the nap room. I’m pretty sure now that it’s for the power.”</p><p>“Now, all we’ll need is the box that turns it on.”</p><p>“Hopefully, we’ll find it here somewhere. Let’s keep moving.”</p><p>They began making their way forward and noticed the low temp room as they grew closer to the exit door. That door wouldn’t open either just like the server room. They would need the power on if they were ever going to need to use that room. Just as they were about 10 feet from the exit, the sound of thumping from above them stopped them in their tracks. </p><p>All of a sudden, the vent on the ceiling broke and fell to the floor, with a licker sitting on top of it. The pair froze and watched as another licker crawled out from the hole and across the ceiling. Veronica nearly had a heart attack when a hand touched her arm and began pulling her backward slowly. Each step they took almost seemed to be followed, but the lickers couldn’t sniff them out yet.</p><p>They backed into the lounge, adrenaline pumping in their veins and sweat dripping down their faces. No matter how many times they had encountered lickers, it never got any less scary. Her back gave a phantom ache while they watched them crawl around looking for prey. But they were still blocking the path forward. Carefully looking around, the trophy had quickly caught her eye. She quietly picked it up and signaled to Leon her plan.</p><p>With a nod, he watched as she chucked it towards the server room, letting it hit the wall with a loud clang. The lickers’ heads whipped up at the sound then they quickly jumped towards it, trying to find the source. Once they were preoccupied on that side of the room, the survivors quickly but quietly made their way towards the exit. Luckily enough, the lickers were kept busy enough for them to escape unscathed. Once the door closed behind them, the two let out a sigh of relief.</p><p>“I fucking hate this place,” Veronica hissed. Leon took her hand in his to squeeze comfortingly.</p><p>“We’re almost out of here. C’mon,” he replied. They walked through a short hallway to the door on the other side that opened to the stairwell that they saw on the map. It was just as dark and dimly lit as the previous section they were in, so it was hard to see what was awaiting them. Just as they entered the room, a growl from the corner caught them by surprise as they watched a zombie trying to get onto its feet. Veronica quickly took it out before it could fight them on the stairs. After the many encounters on staircases, they’ve come to realize they hate them.</p><p>They carefully continued up the stairs, uneasy by the silence since the power was out. After a few flights, they were just about halfway to the top when a body suddenly plunged down from above them, hitting the floor with a loud thud. Veronica yelped in surprise and watched as Leon stabbed it in the head before it could get up. Once he was done, they noticed at the top of that specific flight were vines hanging in the corners of the walls. They didn’t see any bodies hanging around, but they remained cautious just in case.</p><p>Finally, after one more flight, they reached the top of the stairs where there awaited an open door. The room looked like a storage room and there was another door on the other side that would lead back to the waiting room. Just as they walked in, they could hear another growl from behind a box near the other door. A lady zombie stood up and began stumbling over to them, so Leon began shooting at it. It took a few shots, but she went down eventually.</p><p>“Is it sad that these zombies are more annoying than anything? Like they’re not even scary anymore,” Leon said while putting his gun away.</p><p>“After everything we’ve gone through, I don’t blame you for feeling that,” Veronica replied before beginning her search of the room. The room was a mess, clearly, people were already looting it for medical supplies to fight off the virus. Only nothing worked by the state of things in the lab. They were able to find some more gunpowder, a box of handgun ammo, and an electric box similar to the one down in the lounge. </p><p>In that box, sat a piece of machinery that looked like the picture they had seen on the other boxes before. It had a screen with wavy lines across it as well as knobs for moving them and words used for specific settings above it. When turned on, it let out two high pitched drones that changed when moved. Reading a label on the back, it said it was a signal modulator and its purpose was for equipment maintenance. They realized it would be useful in putting the power back on in specific areas of the lab. </p><p>They were about to leave when Leon noticed a piece of paper sitting on a chair. He picked it up and held it up for the both of them to see. It was scrawled messily by someone who was clearly in a rush. </p><p>“‘Everybody’s turned...vegefied...They keep coming back, again and again. Burn them all. Burn them until their whole body is black as ash. There’s no other way,’” he read. “It must be those plant things. I’m...gonna call them Ivys.” He reached around and took out his flamethrower. “I think this will be useful in getting rid of them.”</p><p>“I’m glad we picked it up then. If they keep coming back, that means that the ones we put down are probably back up now.”</p><p>“Which also means we’re going to have to get through more of them since we have to get the chip from the greenhouse.”</p><p>“Figures,” she sighed as they walked out into the waiting room. Things looked the same as they made their way towards the control room, but when they walked into where the Ivys were, they found that the zombie that was hanging had fallen down to join the other. That one had healed itself up from the earlier bullets shot at it and was now on its feet.</p><p>Quietly, they snuck towards the zombies and right when they were behind them, Leon unleashed a blast of fire over them. The heat of the flames was intense at such a close range as they could feel it against their numbed skin. </p><p>At first, it didn’t seem like it was working since the monsters just stalked towards them, but after a moment of being backed away, the bodies suddenly collapsed onto the floor. The Ivys rolled around trying to put out the flames before eventually succumbing and bursting into flames. The bodies were charred black and looked like mere skeletons instead of zombies.</p><p>Relieved that they never had to deal with those specific Ivys, they quickly ran into the control room. With the new code they had found, they quickly typed it into the keypad and unlocked the machine in the drug testing lab. Once it unlocked, the pair prepared themselves for the greenhouse before walking in. </p><p>Luckily for them, the Ivys were wandering around away from the path they needed to take so it was easy to get to. The machine’s gate had lifted and the light at the top had turned green. Veronica put the empty cartridge into a slot and watched as the machine began to move things around. There were three tubes inside it, each a different size and there was green liquid in two of them. </p><p>“Manual mode engaged. Adjust amount of solution to match cartridge capacity,” an automated voice said from the machine. A red line appeared on the first tube showing how much liquid needed to fit in it. There were three buttons beneath the tubes that had symbols showing them which ones rotated and how to fill them.</p><p>“Ok. This shouldn’t be too difficult, right?” the young girl said as she reached for the buttons. It turned out to be more difficult than they thought. They each kept pushing buttons hoping for it to work, but they always missed the mark by just a bit over or under. </p><p>“What kind of fucking facility is this?!” Leon cried out in frustration. Veronica rubbed her face to try and calm herself down.</p><p>“Are we dumb or something?!” she groaned before letting out a loud sigh. </p><p>“No, we’re not dumb. This machine is dumb!” he huffed, swatting it with the back of his hand. Only he accidentally hit the metal part pretty hard and pulled back with a hiss. “Ow!” He grasped at his hand to fight the pain but was interrupted by a small giggle. Turning to Veronica, he found her trying to stop herself from laughing but she couldn’t help but let them escape.</p><p>“What’s so funny?”</p><p>“Sorry! I...I just had a thought...It’s not that funny...but we’ve been through hell tonight. Zombies, lickers, Ivys and after everything, we’re being beaten by a machine! And it’s not even trying to kill us,” she said before bursting into laughter. Leon blinked at her a few times as he processed the joke before he found himself laughing alongside her.</p><p>Maybe it was a coping mechanism, maybe they were just tired, or maybe it was funny enough for them in this situation. Regardless, it felt good to laugh again after everything they had been through, whether it was a stupid joke or not. The laughter began to subside after a minute, their spirits feeling a little higher than when they walked into the room.</p><p>“For a second there I thought you were laughing at my pain,” the young officer said. The other shook her head and held her hand up for his.</p><p>“Well, maybe a little bit,” she grinned before waving her hand. “Lemme see.” He raised an eyebrow before giving her his hand. What he wasn’t prepared for, was for her to bring his hand up to her lips and kiss where he had hit it like a knight does for a princess. He couldn’t really feel it because of the gloves, but he still couldn’t help the blush on his cheeks. It was quick and after she pulled away, she lightly rubbed the spot with her fingers.</p><p>“There! All better!” she said while giving him a smile. He stood and watched her turn back to the machine while still processing what had just happened. After a moment, he finally got his wits about him and went to try and help her. It took a couple more tries before the amount was correct.</p><p>“We got it!” he exclaimed, fist-bumping his partner in celebration. The machine began to beep as the liquid was presumably filling the cartridge. Once it was empty, out popped the cartridge full of the solution. Taking it, Veronica put it into a pouch then walked over to the protocol sheet they had read before on how to take down the plant. </p><p>“It says now we have to cool this immediately. But how?” the brunette questioned. They took out the maps and looked over it again. Leon pointed down to the section beneath them.</p><p>“There! The low temp lab should do the trick. All we have to do is get the power back on with the module we have and we’re set.”</p><p>“Ok, but there are lickers down there. Do we have things to throw?”</p><p>“We’re gonna have to figure that out. Let’s go!” </p><p>They carefully made their way out and towards the ladder, and just in the nick of time before the other Ivys could notice them. Just before they walked into the lounge, Veronica turned on the module only to be spooked by the loud drones it gave off. She quickly switched it off and looked at Leon worriedly.</p><p>“It’s too loud! They’ll hear it for sure!”</p><p>“We have to try! How about this, I’m going to go in and see what switch it has to be on and then you can configure it here before we go in. Just cover me, ok?” She went through the scenarios in her head before nodding. The two crept into the room and noticed a licker by the server room door and another in the middle of the lounge picking at one of the dead bodies.</p><p>Carefully, they tiptoed through as much as possible then Veronica stopped halfway to watch Leon as he got closer to the breaker box. After a moment, he made it back to her and they both went back into the safer room to set up the module. He told her the setting and then she played around with the knobs. Eventually matching the wavelengths, the module was ready, but she had to keep it turned off until they reached the box. </p><p>They made their way back in and worked on getting to the breaker. The lickers hadn't moved yet, so it wasn't so hard. But the next moment was. She held the module up to the breaker then looked at Leon. He grabbed a couple of random cans from the floor then nodded to her. She quickly pressed the button to turn it on and the lickers immediately heard the droning noise. To try and distract them, Leon threw the cans at the other side of the room while she put the module in. It beeped in success and the lights overhead turned on. </p><p>She quickly turned it off and watched as the lickers were inspecting the cans near the low temp room. Now they had to get the lickers to move, but they would need a strategy first. That and one of them was stalking their way to try and investigate the disappearing droning noise. Veronica grabbed a hold of Leon's arm and began to quietly tug him towards the server room. Might as well search it while they were there. They had moved out of the way in time because that licker immediately jumped to where they stood, sniffing for any sort of prey. </p><p>Making it to the server room, they sighed a breath of relief to calm themselves down. It just kept getting worse. At least the lights were on now. Speaking of which, the servers were on too. They glowed brightly as they lined the walls of the small square room they were in as well as in a column in the middle of the floor. There were some maintenance carts lying around as well as a table with a typewriter on the other side of the room. Searching for anything that looked important, they found a knife, more gunpowder, and another canteen of fuel for the flamethrower.</p><p>After searching the room to its fullest, the two carefully set out to get to the low temp room. They carefully walked in that direction, noticing one licker eating at the bodies again, but unsure of where the other one was. On the way there, Veronica found the trophy she threw and picked it up to use again if needed. Just as they were about to turn the corner, they suddenly realized the other licker was on the wall close to where they needed to be.</p><p>Keeping their breaths as shallow as possible, they both slowly slid by it, lucky enough to not grab its attention. After what felt like a millenia, the two survivors made it inside the low temp room and the door slid closed behind them. They could faintly hear the licker outside screech after hearing the door beep open and close, but the two sighed in relief knowing that it couldn’t get in. Now they just had to figure out how to cool the solution before time runs out.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Veronica and Leon finally get the solution they need to destroy the plants in the greenhouse.  After getting what they need, however, they end up meeting with a dying Annette and they learn the truth about their so called F.B.I agent friend.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The survivors found themselves in a lab with work desks on either side of the room. Everything was a mess and the room was dark, the only light coming from a window that looked into the actual cooling lab. Veronica set down the trophy on a random desk as they made their way to it, finding the room to be covered in frost. It really was a cooling lab. </p><p>In the room before that, was an observation desk that had a computer on it. The screen was the same color as their chip and it made them curious to see what was on it. There was also a body on the ground that they knifed just in case it wasn’t fully dead. As they approached the computer, the automated voice called out to them.</p><p>“Welcome back, Dr. Li. You have [5] new messages.” Leon hummed curiously as he clicked on the computer. It opened to Dr. Li’s inbox and revealed the messages sent by coworkers. They talked about a Dr. Cartwright who seemed to be hiding things and one email even had the clue about the trophy they had found. Then it ended with his coworkers freaking out after the outbreak. It seemed like the higher officials clearly left behind everyone. No one was safe.</p><p>Bummed out by the emails, the two moved on towards the lab. Passing through a small room with hazmats suits in it, they walked into the lab and started shivering immediately. There was frost everywhere and the air fogged every time they breathed out. It was super cold and the source came from one of the refrigerator doors that was left open, chilled air spilling out into the room. Veronica hadn’t felt so cold since when she first arrived at the R.P.D., it was enough to cause her teeth to chatter. Leon shivered significantly as they walked through the room toward one of the machines. </p><p>“Who left the freezer open!?” he said incredulously. Veronica couldn’t find it in her to answer as another shiver wracked her body. They quickly reached a machine that looked like it could do the job since it had some machinery resting inside of it, as far as they could tell. Veronica handed the cartridge to Leon then he pushed it into the machine. As he did so, Veronica found a can of gunpowder on a random table, so she took it. As they waited for it to do its thing, Veronica was caught by surprise by Leon pulling her into his arms and wrapping her in a hug.</p><p>“What-?”</p><p>“You’re freezing over here. I’m trying to keep you warm,” he said with a small grin, his hand rubbing down the side of her arms to cause friction. “If only I still had my jacket.”</p><p>“If we still had it, I would give it to you this time. Aren’t you cold?!” she asked pressing closer.</p><p>“I don’t need it,” he replied only for his body to betray his words as he shivered.</p><p>“Bullshit,” she sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. She tried to help somewhat by breathing hot air through his collar. It made him flush a little at the thought of her lips at such close proximity, but the warmth was a nice feeling. After about a minute, the machine ejected the cartridge back to them with it being at a cool temperature. The two survivors ran out of there and reveled in the feeling of warmth, even though it wasn’t that much warmer outside.</p><p>They carefully made it to the exit while the lickers were on the other side of the lounge and ran up the stairwell. From there, they made a beeline back towards the greenhouse control room. Now that there were no more Ivys in their way, it was easy. Before they could do anything, they took this moment to create ammo for themselves after everything they had collected. Once they used the solution, they didn’t know what they would be up against. After they were done, Leon quickly inserted it into the machine and watched as it beeped in success.</p><p>“Dispensing solution now,” the automated voice said over the intercom. The plants outside were sprayed over and then began to droop as it was weakened. The pair watched in amazement as the body of the scientist, with the chip they needed was released by the plant and fell onto the floor with a loud thud. They looked at each other happily then ran out into the greenhouse. All of the Ivys were lying on the floor, clearly stunned by the solution.</p><p>“That did the trick,” Leon muttered as they got closer to the body. </p><p>“Warning: You have dispersed a dangerous solution without authorization. Your actions have been logged and you may be subject to disciplinary measures.” They shook off the voice and continued on. Once there, he picked up the fallen ID chip and inserted it into his wristband. As he was doing that, however, Veronica noticed the sound of thudding coming from somewhere nearby. It sounded like heavy footsteps and almost eerily similar to something they had heard before. She turned to the giant windows of the viewing room above them and gasped.</p><p>“Leon! It’s Mr. X!” she cried, grasping his arm.</p><p>“Shit. Him again!?” They watched as the giant approached the glass and pulled back his arm to punch the glass. “Time to go!” They bolted away from there in time for the glass to shatter behind them. The floor shook as Mr. X dropped onto the greenhouse floor and began stalking after them. </p><p>Just as they were turning the corner, the Ivys had regained their strength and was hobbling towards them. One of them managed to grab onto Leon and tried pulling him in, its mouth opening like a venus flytrap. He managed to reach his waist and take out a grenade, shoving it into its mouth instead. He shoved it away towards the other Ivys behind it and pulled Veronica out of there. The loud explosion behind them was satisfying to hear, but Mr. X’s footsteps never stopped.</p><p>They rushed out of the area and over the bridge to the machines on the middle platform. Leon pushed the button for the West Area bridge and it slid out in record time. Mr. X didn’t seem to be following them anymore, but they didn’t waste time sticking around to find out. They ran across the bridge and walked into the next area.</p><p>“Hopefully the G sample’s up here,” Leon said as they approached the door. Walking in they were met with a dark hallway that led to a small lab. In the hallway, there was another body of a gas-masked soldier lying on the floor, truly dead. At his feet amongst the pool of blood were another VHS tape and a grenade.</p><p>“Another one?” Veronica questioned as she shined her light into the other room. “Leon! There’s a VHS player over there!” The power was out, but lucky for them, there was another breaker box for them and they still had the modulator. With some fine-tuning, they inserted the box and watched as the lights flickered on above them. Looking around, the room was filled with more lab equipment, but now they noticed the doorway they had walked in from was stretched out as if something large tried to squeeze through. </p><p>The pair looked at each other in worry then down at the tape in Leon’s hand. Now that the power was on, the small T.V worked, so they inserted the tape and watched as the screen flickered to life. The footage playing looked similar to the one they had seen in the sewers. Only the soldier, named J. Martinez, was recording it was up in a ceiling vent looking down on a man who looked like a scientist. He was digging in some sort of scientific equipment and pulling out tubes of liquid and putting them into a suitcase. </p><p>“Got eyes on the G-Virus,” the soldier said in a low voice. The screen flickered as he began getting into position. </p><p>“We’re going in,” another voice radioed in. The solider in the vents watched as other soldiers ran into the room with guns aimed at the scientist. Martinez used something to push the vent out of the way then he jumped down into the room to join the others. “Dr. Birkin, you’ll come along with us quietly.” The pair realized this was the rest of the recording that they had heard earlier.</p><p>“You think I didn’t know you were coming?” the scientist, Dr. Birkin, retorted as he slowly slid a hand into his coat and held onto the suitcase for dear life. “This is my life’s work! I’m not handing over anything!”</p><p>“We have our orders, Dr. Birkin,” the leader of the squad told him. “I’ll ask you one more time.” Dr. Birkin breathed in then quickly tried to pull out a handgun. Only he was never able to. Instead, Martinez saw the threat and shot Birkin down before he could. Veronica could only look away, too horrified to look anymore.</p><p>“Stop! Hold your fire!” the leader shouted. Looking back at the footage, they watched as Birkin laid in a pool of his own blood, his body riddled with bullet holes. Another soldier moved forward to check his pulse only to pull away with a shake of his head. The leader turned to Martinez pissed. “What the fuck were you thinking!? Our orders were to bring him in alive!” He pulled away and it sounded like he radioed into the man behind the operation.</p><p>“We’re in, sir, but we had a snafu,” he said then turned to Martinez, still angry. “Target resisted, we had to take him out.” He paused as whoever he was talking to responded. “That’s correct, sir.” Another pause. “Roger that. Just the sample then.” The man standing over Birkin crouched down and picked up the suitcase. “Let’s move!” The leader said before walking past Martinez, the other men following. Martinez took one last look at Birkin’s body then the footage cut out. The man’s lifeless face and blood dripping out of his mouth imprinted in Veronica’s mind. Something about him seemed familiar. It took her a moment before she figured it out.</p><p>“So those were G samples.”</p><p>“Leon, that man...he’s the monster,” she whispered.</p><p>“Birkin. He managed to survive the attack only to destroy Raccoon City.” He glanced around the room and down at a computer on a desk. He looked through Dr. Birkin’s inbox and found a slew of emails from Umbrella. They had accepted his work on G only to take it out of his hands completely. It seemed like Dr. Birkin wasn’t about to let that happen.</p><p>“It sounds like Umbrella wanted G for themselves, but Birkin was too proud to let them take it. Maybe those soldiers work for Umbrella and they were hired to take G from him, only…” Veronica trailed off and nodded to the tape.</p><p>“Only for things to go horribly wrong. But how did he end up like that monster?”</p><p>“Who knows? Hopefully, he’s dead by now!” The two left the room and walked through a small lab, a hazmat room, a decontamination area only to end up in a giant bioreactor room. Only it was thrashed! The ceiling was busted through and down amongst the machinery it looked like a battle happened. The walls were scratched up, broken panels all over the floor and steam was filling the room. Electric sparks flew around from broken machines and there were flames licking against certain parts of the floor. </p><p>Square in the middle of the floor below them, there was a giant mutated blob of something lying unmoving. From what they could tell, it had long claws and bone growth. They had a feeling they knew who it was. Across the room was another door, but they would need a bridge to get to it.</p><p>“William,” a woman’s voice croaked from behind them. The two survivors quickly turned with guns drawn only to lower them. Lying against the wall was Annette Birkin, only she looked worse for wear. Blood had dried at the corners of her mouth and in different spots over her body. She looked weak as she looked up at them.</p><p>“Annette?!” Veronica put her gun back over her shoulder.</p><p>“What the hell is going on!?” Leon questioned, keeping his gun out. Annette shook her head then stared out into the space below them.</p><p>“It shouldn’t have been like this. It’s Umbrella’s fault- this whole mess.”</p><p>“You’re Umbrella, too. You’re telling me you weren’t involved in this?” She turned her head to glare at him.</p><p>“Yes...But we never meant for this to happen.”</p><p>“Then tell me everything- right from the start.” Annette sighed then began recanting on how she found William Birkin, somehow still alive after being shot down. Before she could stop him, he injected himself with his own creation, not only saving his life but also turning him into a monster seeking revenge on those who took his work.</p><p>“So you made that monster?” Veronica questioned.</p><p>“We made the G-Virus, but we never intended this to-.”</p><p>“You can spin it any way you want. You’re still responsible-,” he was cut off as she gasped at a sudden surge of pain. She bent to her side, clutching at her wounds. Veronica turned to him then nodded to a machine on the edge of their platform.</p><p>“I’ll stay here and watch Annette. You go and get G,” she whispered.</p><p>“You sure?” She nodded.</p><p>“Just be quick.” He nodded back then went to press a button on the machine. A bridge began rising from the platform, connecting the two sides together. The monster had slid off of it as it rose but was still lying on the ground beneath them and never moved while they were there. Leon quickly made it across the damaged bridge and disappeared through the other door.</p><p>“Where is he going?” Annette coughs, blood sputtering out of her mouth.</p><p>“He’s getting one of the G-Virus samples. We’re going to make sure this never happens again!” Veronica responded as she knelt at the blonde's side. Annette stared up into Veronica’s eyes and saw no lies behind them. She nodded and winced at the pain in her body.</p><p>“How did this happen?” the brunette asked, lifting Annette’s coat out of the way to see her waist crushed up and bruised.</p><p>“William attacked me. He doesn’t know who anyone is anymore. Just other creatures that are in his way. Another girl was here and she took care of him.”</p><p>“Another girl?”</p><p>“Yes. Her name was Claire, I think.”</p><p>“Claire was here!?”</p><p>“You know her?”</p><p>“Kind of. Why was she down here? How did she beat that thing?!”</p><p>“It was one hell of a fight. She saved my daughter.”</p><p>“Oh. I’m glad to hear that!” </p><p>“Attention: Unauthorized removal of a [Level 4] virus detected. Facility lockdown initiated. Self-destruct sequence will begin when lockdown is complete,” an automated voice said over the intercom above them.</p><p>“Self-destruct?! This place is gonna self-destruct!?” Veronica asked worriedly.</p><p>“It’s in place in case the G-Virus ever left the building. You both need to get out of here!”</p><p>“What about you!?”</p><p>“It’s too late for me.” After she said that, Leon entered the room and began running back over. In one of his vest pockets, they could see a tube of the virus latched in. He quickly knelt down next to Veronica.</p><p>“You got it?” He nodded then looked over Annette.</p><p>“Jesus, that looks bad,” he muttered.</p><p>“Feels worse, believe me,” Annette responded weakly. Leon realized this wasn’t going to end well for her, so he tried to lighten up his attitude.</p><p>“Look, about what you said...I don’t know how much I believe it, but I’m willing to-.” Annette reached up and grasped his arm.</p><p>“Just tell me you’ll destroy that G sample,” she urged. Leon seemed a little taken back and shook his head.</p><p>“No. It’s evidence. It’s going to the F.B.I.” Annette chuckled but it turned more into a cough.</p><p>“You trust that bitch?” Both Leon and Veronica looked at each other confused. Was she talking about Ada?</p><p>“What’s that supposed to mean?” </p><p>“She’s not F.B.I, she’s a mercenary.”</p><p>“What!?” Veronica remembered hearing about those types of people. She didn’t really think they existed, maybe only in movies.</p><p>“She’s gonna sell it - The G-Virus is gonna go to the highest bidder.” Leon shook his head in disbelief then got on his feet.</p><p>“That’s bullshit,” he hissed in anger. Both survivors’ minds raced with every interaction they had with Ada. It did seem weird that she asked two civilians for their help, but they were too caught up in trying to save the city to think about it. Her actions in the cable car also gave them some red flags, but they didn’t want to believe it. Annette gasped loudly in pain and began trying to lay on the floor, breaking them from their thoughts.</p><p>“I hope you’re right,” she told them between gasps as she clutched at her side. “ But if the G-Virus...gets into the wrong hands…” She gave one last breath then fell onto the floor and went unconscious. Veronica was too scared to see if she was actually dead. She got up onto her feet and watched as Leon looked around with his thoughts running a million miles per second.</p><p>“Leon, do you think…” He looked up at her and shook his head.</p><p>“I don’t know anymore. We need to find her and confront her about it.” His partner opened her mouth to say something, but another warning message rang out above them.</p><p>“Attention: Self-destruct sequence initiated. Use the Central Elevator to evacuate immediately to the bottom-level train platform.”</p><p>“We should go! We can ask her about it when we get out here,” she urged while reaching for his arm. He nodded and let her pull him out of the room and towards the main shaft. Just as they reached the giant room, they were surprised to see Ada hobbling across the North Area bridge towards the elevator. She took out her hacking gun and unlocked the elevator, getting the machine to call for it. Apparently, someone else had already used it. They could only hope it would get up to them in time.</p><p>“Ada!” Veronica began jogging over to the middle platform but stopped halfway when she realized Leon was lagging behind. She turned to see him merely walking, his eyes focused on Ada.</p><p>“We were just thinking about you,” he said loudly over the rumbling of the building. The ceiling was already crumbling and it felt like there were small explosions happening deep within the walls. It seemed like the self-destruct process took a little time to fully achieve.</p><p>“That makes three of us. I was getting worried,” Ada responded, limping over to the bridge they were on. </p><p>“Y’know we make a good team, but I gotta ask you something first.” They all stopped near the end of the bridge, Ada passing Veronica to meet Leon who was looking at her with a serious expression.</p><p>“Leon, this isn’t the time for-” Veronica was stopped by Leon raising a hand. She sighed in frustration but let him talk. Ada looked at them worriedly, before keeping her eyes on him.</p><p>“The way’s clear. Please, tell me you got it.”</p><p>“Oh, I got it.” </p><p>“Let me verify the G sample and we’ll get the hell out of here,” Ada said while holding a hand out to Leon.</p><p>“Before we do that,” Ada dropped her hand, “we ran into Annette. She claims you’re not F.B.I.” </p><p>“Oh, Leon…” Ada scoffed and shook her head before suddenly taking out her gun and aiming it at the young officer. “Why couldn’t you just hand over the sample?” The two survivors were not surprised, but they kept their cool. If anything, they were just disappointed.</p><p>“Because I realized, as much as we wanted to trust you…” Leon quickly pulled out his gun and the sound of a shotgun barrel cocking from behind Ada caught her attention. “We didn’t,” The mercenary peered over from the corner of her eyes to find Veronica aiming her gun at her before focusing back on Leon.</p><p>“I really hoped it wouldn’t end up like this.”</p><p>“So that’s all this was...We were just some pawn to you?” he accused growing upset.</p><p>“Look, I am just doing my job.”</p><p>“And I’m doing mine, so drop that damn gun! I’m taking you in.”</p><p>“Guys, we don’t have time for this!” Veronica cut in, but Ada persisted.</p><p>“Hand over the sample, Leon. I don’t wanna hurt you.” The parts of the bridge behind Leon suddenly collapsed after another explosion in the building, leaving the trio just on the edge of falling. Leon quickly got his bearings and then everyone was aiming guns at each other again. They all stood there for a solid second in silence before Leon dropped his gun and stood clear in front of Ada. The girls were taken back by this action.</p><p>“Leon,” Veronica warned, trying to keep her cool, but was getting hard to with every second. Her partner was being stupid for once after all they had been through.</p><p>“Then you shoot me, but I don’t think you can.” Veronica kept her gun up as long as Ada had hers still aimed. Ada stood there thinking, but clearly, she was hesitant. Something was stopping her.</p><p>“Ada, please! No one else needs to die tonight,” Veronica pleaded from behind. Ada turned her head slightly to her as the words sunk in. Her eyes looked back into Leon’s as she tried lifting the gun to see if she could do it, but instead, she lowered it. They all breathed a sigh of relief that she didn’t pull the trigger and began putting their guns away. </p><p>Leon smiled softly at Ada, but before she could return it, a gunshot rang through the air catching them all by surprise. Blood ran down Ada’s arm from a bullethole causing everyone to look over at the West Area door. There on the platform stood Annette, barely alive as she aimed her gun at the trio. </p><p>Suddenly, an explosion below them shook the foundation they stood on. The bridge began to collapse more, the metal beneath their feet twisting onto its side causing Ada to lose her footing</p><p>“Ada!” Leon dove across the still connected panel and was able to grab Ada’s wrist before she could fall into the dark abyss below them. Veronica quickly grasped onto Leon’s leg and held onto the other panel to keep him from sliding. The room was becoming more and more destroyed with each passing second. They were running out of time.</p><p>A clinking sound caught their attention as the G sample vial slid out of Leon’s vest, hit the panel then fell into the darkness. It was gone now. Veronica looked up at Annette who was still standing at the door, her gun lowered.</p><p>“No one gets that sample now,” the scientist muttered before succumbing to her injuries and falling to floor one last time.</p><p>“Leon…” Ada tried to say but was cut off.</p><p>“Hold on...I think I can,” he grunted as he tried lifting her with his one good arm, but the panel beneath them began to break at the pressure. Veronica tried to pull her partner back, but she was stopped when the floor began to buckle.</p><p>“Forget it,” the mercenary shook her head as she looked up at Leon.</p><p>“Shut up- I’ve got you!”</p><p>“It’s not worth it.”</p><p>“Ada, please!” Veronica cried.</p><p>“Don’t do this…” Leon pleaded. He tried pulling her up again, only for her wrist to slip slightly in his grip. Ada glanced down into the darkness before looking back up at the pair one last time.</p><p>“Take care of yourselves, Leon,” she paused and looked over at the other girl who had tears already brimming in her eyes. “Vee.” Leon grunted trying to keep his hold, but all for naught. Ada’s wrist slipt from his grasp and she fell, disappearing into the abyss.</p><p>“NO!”</p><p>“ADA!”  Tears spilled down the brunette’s cheeks as Leon laid there distraught. Another explosion from the distance caught Veronica’s attention, so she began pulling at Leon’s leg to drag him away from the edge.</p><p>“Leon! Leon, please! We have to go!” He finally looked over at her and shook off the grief in order to get off the rapidly breaking bridge. Helping him up, she pulled him to safety and they had made it just in time for the rest of the bridge to collapse behind them. They took one last look over the edge to see if they could maybe find Ada, but it was too dark. There was no way she could’ve survived. It would take a miracle. The two survivors looked at each other then nodded. They had to get out of there.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Time is ticking down and NEST is going down along with it. Veronica and Leon need to get out, but there is always something in the way.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This one is going to be a little longer due to there being no real place to cut off at. Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was no time to mourn for the dead. The two survivors quickly made their way to the central elevator where the car had sat there waiting for them. They climbed in and watched as the doors slid close before the car began to slowly descend to wherever they needed to be. It was nerve-wracking at how slow it went, but it was also nice to relax even if for a moment. Leon looked over at his companion and sighed at her anxiety-ridden expression. He wasn’t feeling that great either. There were a thousand different emotions brewing inside of him.</p><p>“Vee?” he called for her. She turned her head to look at him with worried eyes. </p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“Could you just...hold my hand for a second?... Please? I just...need a little reassurance right now.” She didn’t hesitate to take it into hers, lacing their fingers together.</p><p>“Of course.” She paused. “Did you really not trust her?” He sighed.</p><p>“A big part of me did, but you said something back at the R.P.D. that stuck with me ever since we met her.”</p><p>“What was it?”</p><p>“‘Some people put up a facade and sometimes you have to learn that the hard way.’ And in the end, I guess we did.” His partner sighed sadly at that.</p><p>“Yeah, I guess so.”</p><p>Peeking out of the elevator windows, they watched as they passed a giant mechanical machine that rotated fire and lightening. That must have been the facility’s core that kept the place running and now it was destroying it all. It was scary and amazing at the same time. All of this hid just beneath the feet of the people in Raccoon City and they had no idea.</p><p> “10 minutes until detonation,” the automated voice above them stated. Veronica’s heart thumped in her chest. Ten minutes wasn’t a lot of time and they didn’t know where the exit was yet. She turned to Leon and looked over his face to stamp it into her memory then squeezed their hands. </p><p>“Hey, Leon?” He turned his gaze away from the window over to her. There were new tears brimming in her eyes, and it was heartwrenching. “In case we don’t make it out of here, I just wanted to tell you that I...really like you. I like you as more than just a friend and definitely more than just as your partner. If I had known you longer, I would probably say that it’s even more than that, but-,” she was cut off by Leon as he suddenly leaned forward and cupped her face with his free hand before pressing his lips to hers. </p><p>She wasn’t expecting that and froze for a second before melting into the kiss. It was short and chaste, but sweet even as tears slid down her cheeks. They had to pull apart not even a moment later when the elevator reached the bottom level. The doors slid open behind them, but they made no mad dash out just yet. Gazing into each other’s eyes, they couldn’t help but look at each other in adoration.</p><p>“I think it’s safe to say the feeling’s mutual. We’re going to make it, I promise! C’mon! Let’s go!” With a nod of her head, Leon took her hand back in his and led the way out of the elevator and into a control room. </p><p>“9 minutes until detonation,” the automated voice chimed in. The room was composed of a plethora of monitors on the wall, but no one at the controls. A lot of them had error messages due to the explosions. As they were picking up a first aid spray and a knife from the room, they noticed one of the monitors were still on, and on it was of a girl in one of the rooms in the building.</p><p>“Who’s that?” Leon questioned as they ran over to the monitor.</p><p>“It’s Claire! Annette said she was down here! She beat Birkin!” He looked at his partner shocked at her statement before playing with a panel of controls. Through the black and white static, an image of Claire up close began coming into view.</p><p>“Claire!” he called for her through the monitor, successfully grabbing her attention.</p><p>“Leon? You’re down here too!?” She exclaimed, surprised by his sudden appearance.</p><p>“Yeah. So is Veronica! But the whole place is coming down,” he explained while looking at the other monitors. Then he leaned back in. “Listen to me. You need to get out. Fast!”</p><p>“Yeah. There’s a way out.” The other two looked at each other in surprise while Claire peered over the monitor at this possible exit. “We can make it.” She looked back at the monitor. “Where are you both now?” Then the feed began to get interference. </p><p>“Claire!? You still there?”</p><p>“Leon? Hey Leon, you’re breaking up…”</p><p>“Forget about us! Just get out of here!” The video cut and was full of static. “Ugh! Dammit!”</p><p>“Leon, let’s go!” Veronica urged. The two rushed out of the room and began running around the lower parts of the facility o find this train platform they had heard over the intercom. All they could do was follow whatever open pathways they could follow. </p><p>Explosions went off around them and after taking a short lift to another floor, they were met with more Ivys. Veronica almost got caught by one, but with a stab of her knife, she was able to pull away in time to get out. In the next room over, they climbed down a tall ladder and were about to make it to the next door when all of a sudden, Mr. X jumped down in front of them.</p><p>“Ugh...Is this a fucking joke?” Leon cried as they looped around the room, it following closely behind. They quickly made it past him and through the other door. The next room was completely on fire, but the path was still clear, even when they easily passed by a zombie still lying around and through another door. They were almost at the end of the room after that, which was composed of pipes when suddenly another explosion went off in front of them, causing the way forward to be covered in flames.</p><p>They turned, about to find a different way through, when they were caught off guard by Mr. X standing right behind them. It grabbed the both of them by their heads and lifted them into the air. It added pressure that was beginning to hurt as they tried prying at the hands holding them up. Luckily, an explosion went off right next to them in the pipes causing Mr. X to let go of them. The metal grated floor buckled beneath their weight due to them hitting the floor and another explosion. </p><p>They held onto the railings even as the floor tilted them downward. Below them, they could see another pipe room that might lead to somewhere, but the drop was still too high. But before they could make any decision to jump down, another explosion occurred causing the grate to fully break off and dropping the pair down into the room below them. They could hear more explosions going off above them then the room was doused in fire. </p><p>Veronica felt the wind knocked out of her lungs once she hit the floor. She rolled over and looked up in time to watch as the catwalk above them broke and began tumbling down at her. Leon saw it too and rolled over her, quickly pulling her out of the way. The metal panel slammed onto the floor where she just laid with a loud bang. They both looked at each other, breathing heavily at the constant movement. The young girl swallowed and began climbing off of him and onto her feet. </p><p>“Thanks,” she said breathlessly while helping him onto his feet. He nodded then looked around and noticed another door.</p><p>“Gotta keep going! C’mon!” They quickly ran out of there and found themselves at what looked like some sort of platform. It looked like it lowered down to somewhere, maybe even the exit. The only way to get it to work was with a pair of spark plugs and, luckily for them, they were sitting on a random table. They plugged it in and pulled the lever, watching as the platform began to move. More explosions around them caught them off guard when they noticed weird thumping in the distance.</p><p>“What the hell?!” Leon looked around, watching as the building began to fall apart. A large metal tower fell from its place above them and smacked into a bridge. The wall it was connected to broke and to their absolute horror, out of the hole came Mr. X, only it was different. He looked bigger than usual and his right arm was on fire. It looked like it was on some major steroids. </p><p>“Oh, shit…” Leon whispered as they watched it walk across the bridge to look down at them. Suddenly, another tower came flying down and hit the railing behind them, causing them to fly forward due to the momentum. Then, the bridge above them took another hit and it crumbled down. Mr. X, the Tyrant, coming down with it. It landed on their platform and looked at them full of rage.</p><p>Its body had grown in size and its arm had mutated into a giant claw. The topcoat it was wearing before was now gone, exposing a giant heart on its chest. It looked like it could be a weak spot, but still, he was now more terrifying than ever. His face actually showed rage, even with it’s lower jaw missing. The two survivors looked at each other then took out their guns.</p><p>“Alright, come on!” It roared and began to stalk towards them, so they began firing shots. Every few shots, it would stun it, but it was never enough. It charged at them and pounced, but the two dodged out of the way in time, leaving them on separate sides of the platform. Its claw pierced the floor where they once stood and it was terrifying to see the giant gash in the floor. Deciding on the weaker prey, it stalked after Veronica who was shooting magnum rounds to try and weaken it. It took a swipe at her, but she ducked around him before the hit could land. </p><p>Concrete boulders fell down onto the platform, nearly missing them by inches. Mr. X’s swings would sometimes hit those rocks and it would destroy them entirely. They would try and stay on either side of the platform so that they wouldn’t get stuck against each other and it would give the other ample time to get out a new weapon. With each miss, they were lucky to survive.</p><p>Leon took out a flash grenade and pulled the pin. He tossed it over just as it roared in a different way that made it look like it was pissed. It suddenly began to charge and dug its claw into the floor before dragging it towards the young officer. Sparks flew from the ground as he began to draw closer.</p><p>“Uh-oh...Not good!” he said, but he was saved by the grenade he just threw. It went off stunning the monster for a good minute. Then a giant slab of concrete came down, cutting the platform short. Things just got a lot harder for them.</p><p>Explosions kept going off around them and what made this whole thing worse was the platform was going at a snail’s pace. They were stuck with this thing till it reaches the bottom or they somehow destroy it. The countdown would occasionally chime in with every passing minute. All they could do was dodge, weave, and shoot. </p><p>Another explosion shook the foundation around them with more rock, metal, and fire exploding all over the place. Veronica was knocked back against the railing on the opposite side of the platform, but kept her footing. Leon, however, wasn’t so lucky as he stumbled back over a boulder onto the floor. </p><p>More gravel came down as he tried to gain his bearings, but found his foot stuck in a gap between two heavy rocks. His foot was completely fine, just stuck as he tried pulling himself free. The Tyrant wobbled on his feet for a moment before steadying itself and turning towards Leon as he was easy prey. </p><p>“Shit!” Leon was done for! Suddenly, as if some goddess was listening, in slid a giant box right into the middle of the platform from somewhere above them. The lid popped open revealing a rocket launcher with four rockets loaded. </p><p>“Whoa!”</p><p>“Where did that thing come from?!” Both survivors looked at it in surprise, one of them had to get to it! With Leon stuck, it had to be Veronica, but she needed to get the Tyrant away from her friend first. It was too close. If she shot it while it was next to Leon, he could get hurt.  Looking around, she quickly made a plan.</p><p>“That’ll do!” She picked up a rock, ran a little closer then flung it at the monster’s head. It seemed to catch his attention by ticking it off as he began walking towards her quickly. “Throw another rock at him!” she shouted at Leon, backing away to the other end to get some space. </p><p>“What?!”</p><p>“Just do it!” He quickly got onto the one free knee he had, and did the same as her, picking up another rock and tossing it at the monster. Now it really didn’t like that as it turned again towards Leon and began walking away. With it being distracted, she ran towards the launcher case and pulled it out while backing up. It was now in the perfect spot, just past the middle.</p><p>"HEY ASSHOLE!"</p><p>The monster turned its body to face her before beginning to stalk towards her again angrily. Right before it was just in the middle of the platform, she lifted the launcher onto her shoulder and aimed. Just passed the Tyrant, she could see Leon watching her intensely before giving her a nod.</p><p>"GAME OVER!"</p><p>Her finger pulled the trigger with a click. There was the intense pullback of the recoil before the rocket was projected from the weapon. Both Leon and Veronica turned away before the blast, shielding themselves from the fire. It went by so fast as it hit the Tyrant with a loud explosion, the smoke billowing around itself. After a moment, the smoke dissipated and the two survivors watched in the utmost relief as the Tyrant's lower body fell onto the ground in a gory mess of intestines and lack of an upper body.</p><p>But they couldn't celebrate just yet, a countdown was still going down around them. Veronica quickly set down the weapon and ran over to Leon, helping shove the rocks away from his foot. She grabbed an arm and lugged him onto his feet just as the platform finally reached the bottom level, the automated voice system annoyingly telling them so.</p><p>“Holy shit, Vee! You were such a fucking badass!”</p><p>“Flirt with me later, rookie! We’re almost there! C’mon!” she yelled over the rumbling around them. She picked the launcher back up and the two ran off the platform towards the exit. As they were approaching the door, it busted open with a small horde of zombies stopping them in their tracks. Above them, the voice alarms blared that there were three minutes until detonation. </p><p>“Ugh! Seriously?!” he groaned. Veronica lifted the rocket launcher up to him.</p><p>“Care to do the honors?” </p><p>"I'd thought you'd never ask!" He took it with a smirk, before lifting it onto his good shoulder and aimed. That horde was gone in seconds.</p><p>“That was so satisfying,” he said as they took off through the exit, just as the head of a random train began to chug through. Another explosion around them caused part of the ceiling to come down, slowing them as the train was beginning to pick up speed.</p><p>“Gotta get out of here!” </p><p>“That’s our ride out! Let’s go!” They ran alongside the train after tossing the launcher behind them. It was too heavy to carry and the train was getting faster. While it was still slow enough, Veronica was able to reach and grasp a car’s side railing. She quickly pulled herself up then reached out for Leon’s hand.</p><p>“C’mon!” </p><p>An explosion occurred behind him, causing him to jump up and grasp both her hand and the railing, his feet almost dragging on the floor. His injured shoulder made it hard for him to pull himself up, but with all the strength either have, they hauled him up onto the car with a loud grunt. She dragged him onto the floor next to her, letting him lie on his back while she leaned against the car as they both tried to catch their breath. He was clutching his wounded shoulder with a pained look on his face, clearly showing that he overexerted himself.</p><p>Looking back, Veronica watched as the room they were just in exploded into flames. <em> That was a close call. </em> The two noticed the train enter a tunnel, and for once, they felt safe. They just might make it out of this, if this thing leads out of Raccoon City that is. Was Claire on this train, or anything else for that matter? For right now, they didn't know. They just needed a moment to breathe. </p><p>After about a minute, Veronica glanced over at Leon before crawling over to him with only one thing on her mind. He turned his head to watch her sit at his side with curious eyes. One of her hands reached over to brush his hair away from his sweaty face before cupping his cheek tenderly. Eyes gazed into one another’s, swirling full of emotions. Slowly, she leaned down with her eyes closing before pressing her lips against his gently. It was a quick kiss that surprised him, but he was happy enough to finish what they started earlier.</p><p>She pulled away just as slowly but didn’t make it far as Leon followed her by sitting up. He cupped his hand around the back of her neck gently and without hesitation, he leaned forward and captured her in another kiss. She met him with just as much passion, her hands snaking up to cup at his jawline while his arms slid down to wrap around her waist bringing her closer. </p><p>Lips melded together in desperation at finally allowing themselves to feel for each other. Allowing themselves to feel the other against them without something chasing them or with no countdown hovering over their heads. It was as if whatever was watching over them that was keeping them alive was saying “finally”. They tasted of sweat and dirt, but that didn’t matter to them anymore. It was just them being together and alive that was. </p><p>Knowing they had to still move, they reluctantly pulled apart breathlessly. Leon leaned forward once more and pressed his forehead against hers with a sigh. She so desperately wanted him to kiss her again, but instead, she just savored the tender moment. He smiled softly at her and cleared his throat.</p><p>“We should, um, go check the train.” All she could do was nod in response while rubbing her lips together. After they pulled apart and began to stand up, Leon felt something in one of his back pockets that poked him uncomfortably. Reaching behind him, he pulled out the I.D. wristband from NEST. From Ada. He forgot that he stuffed it into one of his pockets when they contacted Claire in the control room. He looked at it sadly for a moment before tossing it out onto the track letting the wind take it. </p><p>“I could’ve saved her,” he said, as he watched it disappear. Despite what Ada had done, neither of them wanted her to die, and frankly, a part of Veronica felt the same guilt as Leon did. Ada had saved their lives multiple times and perhaps, given the circumstances could’ve been a friend. She looked like she was warming up to them near the end. She could have shot them then took the sample and yet, she didn't. But a voice seemed to tell Veronica that things were gonna be fine.</p><p>“We did all that we could, Leon. It wasn’t your fault. But,” she pecked him on the cheek to bring him back to reality, “something tells me that we will see her again. Alive.” He gazed at her with hopeful eyes before nodding in agreement. Staying hopeful was all he could do.  Finally, they both began to get up from their spots even though their bodies screamed at them to do otherwise. Once they were on their feet, Leon quickly pecked Veronica on the lips. </p><p>“For the road,” he said, biting his lip, before turning towards the direction that the cars were going in. All she could do was smile dopey with a blush on her cheeks as she followed him. </p><p>They carefully walked up to the first car of the train. Peeking into the windows, they were surprised to see two other survivors. One looking very familiar. The doors slid open as they hurriedly walked in.</p><p>“Claire!” Veronica beamed. Said survivor turned and smiled happily at them. She looked like she went through just as much shit as they did. Her red leather jacket was on her companion leaving only a dirty black tank top and jeans.</p><p>“Veronica?! Leon?!”</p><p>“Hey. We made it,” Leon declared tiredly.</p><p>“Just like I said we would,” Claire grinned. Leon turned to the blonde little girl at her side curiously. She was wearing what looked like a blue plaid school uniform and she looked no older than 12. What was a girl like her doing down there?</p><p>“Who’s this?” he asked. She gently wrapped an arm around the little girl’s shoulders as she walked forward shyly.</p><p>“This...this is Sherry.”</p><p>“Ok.”</p><p>“Hi Sherry,” Veronica waved, but before she could get a response the train jerked suddenly causing everyone to stumble.</p><p>“Jesus!”</p><p>“What was that?!” Claire questioned as she gazed at the doors.</p><p>“I don’t know.”</p><p>"We didn't check the back cars. Something could still be on it," Veronica pointed out. </p><p>“You two stay with Sherry. I’m gonna go check it out,” Claire told them before she walked out of the car into the next. Leon stood next to said little girl as Veronica watched her leave. </p><p>“Don’t worry, Sherry. We’ll protect you,” Leon reassured her. After a moment, the car jerked again, this time more intensely. </p><p>“We shouldn't have let her go alone. We have to go after her,” Veronica implored Leon. Glancing between the doors and Sherry, he thought about it for a moment, before nodding.</p><p>“Let’s go. Sherry, you stay right behind me, got it?” The little girl nodded then the three of them ran out of the car. Passing through a car full of crates, the doors at the other end led them to a crazy sight. Claire was in the next car over, shooting a giant machine gun at a familiar blob of teeth and tentacles that was destroying the car. The whole train jerked onto its side as it swung its tentacles around banging against the walls. The car would stabilize then start moving from side to side again causing everyone to slam against the walls constantly.</p><p>“It’s still not dead?!” Veronica shouted angrily.</p><p>“Not yet! We have to help her!</p><p>The monster broke the ceiling of its car explosively causing Claire to lose her footing as they reached the door. The trio watched helplessly as she was flung against the floor then began trying to get back up.</p><p>“Claire!” Another jerk slammed them in the opposite direction. “We gotta lose that car! the rookie stated as he knelt down on the floor near the car connection. If he could just separate them, the car would fall into the building’s self-destruction fire that was chasing the train.</p><p>“Be careful!” Veronica yelled as she held onto Sherry protectively while keeping a grip on one of the car railings. They watched as he pulled back a metal grating revealing the key to separating the car from theirs. He grabbed ahold of the railing and kicked down repeatedly on the bar. </p><p>“C’mon!” he grunted before finally the lever worked, causing a small rift to begin between the two cars. Looking up, they watched as Claire clambered onto her knees with a giant pole as the giant horned eyeball was looming over her. She pulled back then stabbed the thing, twisting and cutting it, causing a waterfall of puss and grossness to spurt out.</p><p>“You like that! Ugh!” Claire shouted at it, before twisting one last time. “Goodbye fucker!” She wrenched the pole out, stumbling backward as it screamed in pain. Leon leaned forward, reaching out his arm to her.</p><p>“Give me your hand!” She took it eagerly and with a grunt, she stumbled onto their car safely. The four of them watched intensely as the monster known formerly as William Birkin and his car lost speed and fell into the fiery explosion. Hopefully ending its life for good this time.  </p><p>They all sighed in relief and began heading back to the first car. The fire was still chasing them in the tunnel so they needed to figure out where this tunnel led. Peering through the front windshield, they noticed the end of the tunnel coming up, but the track ended just outside of it. Claire began to tinker with some of the controls on the headboard hastily.</p><p>“We have to slow the car down. We could crash off the track if we don’t,” she explained. She must have done something because the car began to successfully slow down. Eventually, it reached the outside and stopped right at the end of the track. The fire behind them burst out of the tunnel before disappearing into the air. </p><p>With a gun raised, Leon carefully opened the train door and peeked outside. After deeming it safe, the four survivors climbed out of the car and began walking. It was barely morning, so it was still cold out, but the sun was shining and they reveled in its heat. The long desert road splayed out across the horizon. Some mountains casting shadows over the dried brush. They could see the doomed city sitting far off in the distance behind them with a dark cloud still looming over it.</p><p>Deciding to move as far away as possible from it, they decided to begin the long trek across the desert to safety. There were no monsters around, no zombies, no bioweapons, nothing. Just desert. And for once they were happy with that. Despite being safe, they still kept their heads on a swivel to make sure they weren’t being followed. </p><p>Emotions were a little rattled as they walked down the paved road. Bodies were a little worse for wear and exhaustion weighed heavily on their minds. Little Sherry knew this so she decided to speak up from between Leon and Claire.</p><p>“So...are you guys, like boyfriend and girlfriend?” she asked while looking over at Veronica and Leon. It was an innocent question considering that the two were together all night. They both were stunned by her question as they all stopped to talk. They looked at each other and shrugged before reaching out to hold each other’s hand.</p><p>“I guess you could say something like that,” he smiled sheepily.</p><p>“Is that so?” Claire raised an eyebrow with a small smirk grew on her lips. “That must’ve been one helluva first date, then.” Leon glanced over at his partner longingly.</p><p>“Yeah, you have no idea-.” Suddenly, Sherry pointed down the road.</p><p>“Look!” They all turned to see a semi-truck heading towards them. “He might be able to give us a ride.” Leon and Claire looked at each other with serious expressions, standing in front of the other two behind them protectively.</p><p>“What if it’s not just the city?” Claire questioned worriedly. Leon nodded the three of them over to the side of the road.</p><p>“Get them outta here.” Claire waved the other two to follow her to a spot off of the road while Leon waited with his thumb out. His other hand resting on his gun, just in case. However, as the semi-truck passed them, they were met with loud honking and a middle finger out the window. They all watched as the truck drove off in the other direction. Maybe it was best that they didn’t catch the ride. It was going towards where they had just come from.</p><p>“Well, he was friendly,” Leon scoffed before looking over at the others. They jogged over and followed his gaze towards where the truck disappeared. </p><p>“So...is it over?” Veronica asked. </p><p>“I don’t know. But if it’s not, we’ll stop it. Whatever it takes.”</p><p>“Yeah. You’re damn right we will!” Claire added boldly. Leon turned to look at his companions and set his eyes on his partner.</p><p>“Long as we stick together, we’ll be fine. Come on,” he nodded her over to his other side then held out his hand to Sherry. The young girl gave a toothy smile and stood between him and Claire, taking both of their hands on either side. Veronica went and stood on Leon’s left side to also hold his hand. </p><p>“Hey! You guys can adopt me,” Sherry suggested, swinging their arms happily. All of the young adults chuckled awkwardly at such an innocent thing.</p><p>“Adopt you?” Claire tried to diffuse the situation with a laugh.</p><p>“Yeah! I’ve never had two moms and a dad before! Oh! We can get a puppy!” </p><p>“A puppy…”</p><p>“And a parrot!”</p><p>“Parrot? Great…”</p><p>“I always wanted pets but my mom said they’re too messy.”</p><p>“Hmm...Yeah…” </p><p>“Oh, and it would be fun to learn piano. Do you guys play any instruments?”</p><p>“Veronica here is a musician,” Leon suggested, nodding to his partner. Said girl blushed but nodded. </p><p>“I know how to play the piano. I can teach you once we’re safe,” she replied.</p><p>“Yay! I can’t wait! Hopefully, we’ll get there soon,” Sherry sighed happily. The adults looked at each other tiredly. This was going to be a long journey.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is where the gameplay ends, unfortunately, so if that's all you're interested in and want to move on, you can check the other scenario with Claire. If you would like more, please continue!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The remaining four survivors had finally made it out of Raccoon City and are now walking the desert to safety. Hopefully, they'll be able to catch a ride and take a damn shower.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is where shits about to get self-indulgent af as well as totally made up! I love this after story motel shit!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The four survivors walked down the empty desert road for hours. All of them took turns in giving Sherry a piggyback ride once she got tired of walking. She was only a kid after all. The sun climbed higher and higher in the sky, but considering how much rain they ran through, they weren’t complaining. As they walked, they talked about their nights and where they come from.</p><p>Veronica found out that Claire and Leon had met at a gas station just outside of town. They both had to hijack a dead officer’s car to get out of a mob of zombies and make it into the city. Turns out, that loud explosion she had heard at the beginning of the night, was of a gas tanker that exploded. It had crashed into their car and separated them.</p><p>“So that’s why you showed up at the station later!” she said in realization. </p><p>“Yeah, it took quite the detour to get there. But I’m kinda glad we got separated. If we hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to save Sherry,” Claire smiled down at her younger companion. She really was like a mom to her.</p><p>“So what happened?” Leon asked.</p><p>“Sherry is Annette Birkin’s daughter. I found her while trying to escape the station, but she was basically kidnapped by some creep. I think he used to be the chief of police.” Leon and Veronica looked at each other in surprise.</p><p>“Irons was alive?!” Veronica gasped. Claire looked at them in surprise.</p><p>“Well, he was until I showed up to save Sherry.”</p><p>“Did you…”</p><p>“No. He had one of those G-Virus babies explode out of his chest. It wasn’t a fun moment.”</p><p>“How did that happen?”</p><p>“My dad showed up,” Sherry cut in, her face a little unreadable.</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>“I mean he saved me at first. That old guy was going to hurt me, but my dad also put the virus in me.” The other two looked at Claire in shock.</p><p>“Don’t worry! She doesn’t have it anymore. Annette was able to administer a vaccine, so she’s free from the virus. I’m glad it worked though. I went through one hell of a fight to get to it.”<br/>“So what Annette said was true then! You defeated Birkin!” Veronica exclaimed. Claire smirked at her and nodded.</p><p>“I did! Three times! He didn’t end up staying dead after that fight! He came again right after you guys talked to me on that monitor when the self-destruct stuff was happening.”</p><p>“Then again on the train. Holy shit Claire!” Leon couldn’t help but say in shock.</p><p>“So, then why did Irons take her?”</p><p>“Honestly, I’m not sure. I think it had to do with a pendent Sherry was wearing. It had the ability to unlock the case that held the vaccine down at the lab. He almost shot me for it. I had to find her at the orphanage down the street from the station. Then I had to get through the sewers and the lab.”</p><p>“What an asshole,” Leon muttered. Veronica squeezed his hand and he squeezed back.</p><p>“Well enough about me, what about you guys? How did your night go?” The young couple looked at each other than over at Claire.</p><p>“A lot happened. We met not too long after I showed up at the station,” Leon responded.</p><p>“We worked together to find the way out, but not too long after we met with you, I got scratched up by a licker!” Veronica added. Claire’s eyes widened.</p><p>“You what!?”</p><p>“I have three long scratches on my back to prove it.”</p><p>“She saved my life is what happened. After that, we fought Birkin before he turned into that giant mess of a blob. He was still halfway human at that point. We survived and got away from it. Then we met Ada,” Leon sighed.</p><p>“Who’s Ada?”</p><p>“Ada is...was a mercenary. She tricked us into thinking she was an F.B.I. agent working on a case against Umbrella. Leon got shot by Annette trying to push her out of the way,” Veronica continued.</p><p>“What happened to her?”</p><p>“She’s uh…”</p><p>“She’s dead. We tried to save her, but she fell down the main shaft at the lab,” Leon explained. It was clear that the memory still stung. </p><p>“Then we fought Mr. X, er, I guess I should say the Tyrant.”</p><p>“Oh! Are you talking about that giant grey trenchcoat-wearing motherfucker?!” Claire chimed in.</p><p>“You ran into him too?!”</p><p>“You bet I did! He sucked!”</p><p>“Tell me about it! He was like a psycho girlfriend!” They all laughed out of reflex at the thought. </p><p>“What a night it’s been,” Leon sighed. They all hummed in agreement. </p><p>The next couple of hours went like this. Talking about the horrors of the night they just went through, continuous walking, and sometimes minutes of silence. Sherry would often brighten up the conversation with talk about each other rather than about experiences. It was like one big survivor bonding party. Despite going what they’ve been through, it was a nice change. After about the third hour, they were beginning to get pretty tired and were actually considering resting on the side of the road.</p><p>However, Veronica noticed something in the distance. There looked like there was something shiny moving multiple times up ahead. When they got a little closer, they realized it was a highway and the shiny objects were cars! They all began to jog over to try and flag down a ride. It took them a couple of tries, but a man in a red pickup truck stopped on the side of the road.</p><p>“Geez son, you look like shit!” the older man behind the wheel grumbled at the sight of Leon.</p><p>“We went through some shit. Do you think you could give us a lift?” he asked. The driver looked at him then at the trio of girls behind him. </p><p>“Where yall headed?”</p><p>“Anywhere that’s as far away from Raccoon City as possible!” Claire stated.</p><p>“As far as you can take us. A few towns over would be great,” Leon added. The old man thought about it for a second before nodding.</p><p>“Alright. Yall can hop in the back. I don’t want my seats stained. I’ll take you three towns over and drop you off at the nearest motel. It may take a few hours.”</p><p>“Thank you so much, sir. We really appreciate it!” The girls began to climb into the trunk, but the man stopped Leon before he could.</p><p>“What happened in Raccoon City? I was taken on a detour passed it.”</p><p>“Hell, sir. That’s all that’s left.” The man seemed taken back by the young officer’s answer but then nodded. Leon quickly climbed in with the girls and then the truck began driving onward. After the first hour, Leon and Sherry ended up falling asleep in their companion’s laps, not that they could blame them. Claire and Veronica decided to stay awake for their sake, and in the meanwhile, they decided to talk, woman to woman.</p><p>“So, you and Leon then?” Claire asked over the roar of the wind. Veronica blushed then nodded.</p><p>“You could say that. It kind of just happened,” she shrugged, her hand reaching down to thread her fingers through her partner’s hair.</p><p>“I don’t blame you, honestly. He’s one helluva hero.”</p><p>“He’s one helluva partner,” she grinned. The next two hours were spent talking before finally, the truck pulled off of the highway. Like the driver said, they had made it three towns over and were stopping at a motel. The four survivors climbed out of the truck then went pver to the driver window.</p><p>“We can’t thank you enough, sir!” Claire sighed. </p><p>“It’s no problem, young lady!” Suddenly, Veronica remembered something. She had a pocket on her plaid shirt that was buttoned and in it was her ID, her card, and some money. She had put them in there because she didn’t want to carry a purse while walking to Raccoon City after her car had stalled. Pulling out a 20, she handed it to the driver.</p><p>“It’s not much, but I hope this can be some sort of payment for the ride.” The man hesitated then took the bill with a small smile. </p><p>“Thank you, miss. It’s kindly appreciated. I’ll be off now.” They said their goodbyes then watched as he drove off. </p><p>The motel he had dropped them off at was a rather cheap one, but anything was better than nothing. The other two had kept their essentials as well, so paying for the rooms wasn’t a hassle. They were able to get two rooms for the night, each with a full bed since it was all they could afford or was available. Not that it mattered. They could sleep on a padded floor as long as they were safe. Claire and Sherry would take one while Veronica and Leon shared the other. Claire went along with this just fine so that she could watch over Sherry and also let the other two have alone time. </p><p>When she offered, she made sure to wiggle her eyebrows at the young couple. They immediately turned red at the prospect but didn’t argue. Before heading up to their rooms, they went to a small gift shop/convenience store to buy bottles of water, first aid supplies, some toiletries, and a few snacks. Getting up to their rooms, they drank so much of their waters so fast, it was almost unbearable. But eating was hard. After everything they had seen, they didn’t really have much of an appetite. </p><p>The room was small, but it was plain and it was safe. The bed was kind of squeaky and there may have been spiders in the corners of the room, but they didn’t care. Walking into the bathroom, they had never been so happy to see a shower that was offering hot water in their life. Also, the motel they were in had a laundry room, much to their surprise, so they decided to take the full opportunity to use it. </p><p>After taking a minute of taking in the room, Veronica turned to Leon, emotions suddenly overwhelming her. He glanced over from his water bottle then set it down before holding out his arms to her. She almost ran into them with how quick she went in for the hug. Their arms tightened around each other as they embraced. She couldn’t stop herself from hiccuping against his vest free chest. </p><p>“W-we made it!” she blubbered. He lifted a hand to pet softly at the back of her head.</p><p>“We did, just like I promised.”</p><p>“I hope this isn’t a dream, ‘cause I don’t want to wake up. That was so scary!”</p><p>“I know, but we’re ok. We survived! Starting tomorrow, we’re going to start heading home. Since we’re closer to my place, you can rest there till we can get you a flight back to L.A. Is that ok?” he offered. She pulled back and wiped her tears away.</p><p>“I don’t want to be a burden-,” she tried, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He pecked her lips with a soft kiss to stop her.</p><p>“You won’t be. I promise you,” he whispered. She gave him a small smile then nodded at his proposition. All this talk about home had her thinking though. With some leftover change, the couple ran downstairs and found a payphone. They both gave teary phone calls to their parents, telling them that they were ok and that they would explain everything when they got home. </p><p>Apparently, the news had just reported that Raccoon City was closed off, but they didn’t know why. No news helicopter could fly in to see how it was going and it worried their parents a lot. The last thing they said before ending the call was warning them about Umbrella. Before doing anything else with their free time, they all decided to meet up in Claire’s room.</p><p>“How about this? While Veronica and Sherry take a shower, Leon and I can go and wash your clothes downstairs. Then when you’re done, we’ll switch. After we’re all clean, we can meet back here and fix ourselves up,” Claire suggested. </p><p>“You sure if we should?” Leon asked worriedly. He wasn’t ecstatic at the thought of leaving anyone alone.</p><p>“We need to get clean somehow and I don’t want to walk in sewage covered jeans for a few a hundred more miles.” With that said, they all agreed then the two girls went to take their showers. Leon waited outside of the bathroom for Veronica to get undressed so that she could hand him her clothes. However, she opened the door with her shirts off, leaving herself in her bra and shorts. Before Leon could get embarrassed, she turned to show her bandaged back.</p><p>“Mind taking these off for me, rookie?” He cleared his throat.</p><p>“Y-yes! Of course!” He walked in and began undoing the bandages, letting them finally air out. As he did so, he couldn’t help his eyes from trailing over her exposed back and shoulders. What he didn’t realize, though, was that Veronica could see that from the mirror in front of her. Only, she didn’t say anything. She let him and it made her heart beat fast in her chest when they traveled even lower. The tension was thickening in the air, but he cut it with a small cough as he pulled off the last dirty bandage.</p><p>“There!” </p><p>“Thank you,” she turned to face him, unashamed of being shirtless. “I appreciate it,” she whispered before reaching up to peck him on the lips. He was about to lean in and kiss her when there was a knocking on the room door.</p><p>“Leon! You ready?” It was Claire. </p><p>“Right. Almost!” he shouted as he was being shoved out of the bathroom. Veronica closed the door and undressed fully, then handed him the ball of clothes. He had to take a deep breath before walking out with Claire. Veronica had to do the same once he left to calm herself down. <em> Yikes. </em> Then she looked into the mirror for the first time. <em> Double yikes! </em></p><p>The amount of dirt and grime on her body was disgusting. She was bruised all over the place from the constant falling and hitting things. The biggest ones were around her cheeks from where she was grabbed by Mr. X and around her waist from being grabbed by the monsters in the sewers.</p><p>Not surprisingly, her joints were doing pretty well since they had been covered by pads almost all night. There were minor cuts dotted all over the place and her hair was a giant messed up nest. But the biggest injury she had sustained all night was her back. Trying her best to see it, they were jagged and flaring a little red around the edges. If she didn’t disinfect it soon, there was going to be an issue. </p><p>Jumping into the tub, she had never been so happy to be taking a warm shower. Watching the dirt go down the drain was satisfying and the warmth cascading down her body was a wonderful feeling. She was basically freezing for almost 24 hours straight. It took a couple of washes to get everything out. Standing in the water, she watched as some blood from her back slid down the drain. Memories of being slashed by the licker came to mind and it made it her toes curl. </p><p>Suddenly onslaught by the events of the night, she curled up onto the floor and began to cry. It was all so terrifying! They had almost died on multiple occasions. Some of them, she was alone for. If it wasn’t for Leon, she didn’t know if she would’ve made it out. If anything, the licker might have actually killed her. She was so lucky to be alive, but how was she going to live on with all of these memories. A knocking at the bathroom door interrupted her thoughts.</p><p>“Vee? You ok?” It was Leon. How long had she been in there? She sniffled and cleared her throat.</p><p>“Y-Yeah! I’m fine! I’ll be out in a minute!” She turned the water off and wrapped a towel around her. She opened the door to find Leon with a pile of folded clean clothes in his hands. His cheeks were red, though, having now seen her in only a towel, but that stopped quickly when he noticed her puffy red eyes.</p><p>“Hey, you ok?”</p><p>“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just...just peachy,” she croaked. He nodded, somewhat in understanding as he held out her clothes to her. Once she took it, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek then let her get dressed. Not really bothering with the tights till they leave, she slipped on her clean clothes. It was nice to wear something not moist and crusty. Once she was done, the couple switched spots so that he could undress. However, he merely unbuttoned his shirt then turned to her.</p><p>“Can you, uh…?”</p><p>“Of course! C’mere,” she gestured him to lean against the sink so he could bend down a little. She reached up and began unwinding the bandages, but kept the gauze in place until it was all off. Considering that he was facing her, she tried keeping her eyes on what she was doing, but occasionally they would wander off towards his toned chest. <em> Gosh is this hard! </em> </p><p>He could see that she was struggling and found it kind of amusing that he was doing the same before. So instead of holding back, he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her forward to press against him. This caught her off guard and caused her to blush a deep red, halting her in her work. She sighed softly, reaching a hand up to caress his bruised up face and brushing his hair away from his tired eyes. </p><p>“Your hair is still perfect despite everything we’ve been through,” she whispered. It had kept its shape the entire night and never seemed to get dirty. He chuckled and shook his head. </p><p>“It doesn’t feel like it, but thanks, I guess.” She giggled before leaning in and giving him a kiss. It was meant to be short, but the arms at her waist said otherwise. If anything, she gave in and leaned into it, deepening the kiss.</p><p>She knew Sherry was going to show up any minute at the door, but it was getting harder to pull away. Especially since they were beginning to slowly grind against each other and tongue was slowly being introduced. Oh how much she wanted to-! A few timid knocks on the room door tore them apart.</p><p>“Um, Veronica? It’s Sherry! Can I come in?” Sherry’s voice called. Veronica sighed and pulled away before heading to the door. Opening it, she gave Sherry a smile.</p><p>“Of course! Come in!” she said letting the young girl walk in. “Sorry, I’m unwrapping Leon’s wound. We’ll leave in just a second.” She went back to tend to Leon, giving him a knowing look before finally finishing what she was doing. They had to be extra careful about it till they could get together and fix each other up. He handed her the rest of his clothes then started up the shower. Before she left, Veronica holstered the magnum to her thigh, too scared to leave without it. </p><p>The two girls went downstairs and found the laundry room. It was small and had two sets of a washer and a dryer. Veronica taught young Sherry how to use them before starting up her loads as well. While they waited, they both sat on the machines and talked. </p><p>“So Sherry, when we get out of here, what are you most excited about to do?”</p><p>“Umm...I want to see where Claire lives! That and go to a park!”</p><p>“That sounds like a lot of fun! I’m sure you’ll be playing on the swings in no time!”</p><p>“What about you?”</p><p>“Well, I’m most excited about seeing my family. I miss them a lot! I have a younger sister that’s probably about your age!”</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>“Mhm!”</p><p>“Do you think you’ll meet Leon’s family too?” That question caught her off guard. Sherry may have been young, but she wasn’t that naive.</p><p>“You know what? I think I will be,” she smiled. For the next hour, it continued like this before the clothes were finally ready. Heading back upstairs, the girls went there separate ways, promising to meet within the next half hour. The shower was off when Veronica walked in and the sound of Leon brushing his teeth could be heard. She had remembered to do that before jumping into the shower, considering that she had vomited not even an hour after meeting Leon. She was still embarrassed by that. Not that anyone could blame her for doing so.</p><p>She knocked on the door and called for him. He opened it and walked out in only a towel that was tied low on his hips. His hair was slicked back and his chest was glisteningly clean. The wound on his shoulder was angrily red though. She hasn’t seen him this clean since the beginning of the night. The brunette swallowed and quickly handed him his clothes. He thanked her with a wink before shutting the door and changing inside the bathroom. She had to lay on the bed to cool herself down.</p><p>Once he was done, they used the phone in their room to call Claire and see if they could come over. She told them they could and to bring any medical supplies they had, so they did. Walking in, they found Sherry watching cartoons on the small T.V. while Claire was brushing out her hair. It was longer than what they had expected, but it was a nice look when it was down. She greeted the two with a smile then gestured them to sit on the bed.</p><p>“Alright, who wants to go first?” The pair pointed at each other, laughing once they realized that they did.</p><p>“Ok, ok. But seriously, he should go first. He got shot! Don’t suppose you know how to treat a bullet wound, do you?” Veronica asked. Claire hummed then asked Leon to take off his shirt.</p><p>“Luckily for you, I do! Chris taught me in case of an emergency, but as soon as we get to a hospital, we should get it checked.” For the next few hours, they all worked on each other’s injuries to the best of their abilities. New bandages, disinfecting cuts, taking pain pills, makeshift stitching they found down in Umbrella’s lab. As much as they hated the company, their medicinal stuff worked very well. It was no wonder why they were trusted so easily.</p><p>“I’m surprised we’re all still alive, honestly,” Claire said as her arm was being bandaged by a pretty awful cut from the Birkin fight.</p><p>“Same here. Who knew a bunch of ragtime civilians would be able to get through a zombie apocalypse,” Veronica replied while tying the wound off.</p><p>“You guys don’t think it’ll spread, do you?”</p><p>“I don’t know. All we can do is hope that it doesn’t. We know it was spread by the rats, so as long as we don’t see one, we should be ok,” Leon added.</p><p>“Well, we should still barricade our doors before we sleep. I don’t want some sort of surprise attack to happen.”</p><p>“Agreed.” When they were done, they looked over at the clock to check the time. It was 9 pm and poor little Sherry had fallen asleep while watching T.V. They whispered to each other good night before the young couple left to let the other two to get some shut-eye. They weren’t that much farther behind. Once in the room, they pushed some unused furniture in front of the door and shut the curtains to keep the light from peeking out. There wasn’t much they could use to block it, so they had to make due. </p><p>Veronica let out a loud yawn while they got ready for bed. Sleeping sounded so good at that moment. Even though they wanted to keep...doing things...they were so tired that they needed a night of sleep. Considering that they were alive and out of Raccoon City, they had plenty of time to do things together later. They wondered what to wear while sleeping, but knowing how far away from the city they were, they decided to just get comfortable. It was just for one night anyways.</p><p>Slipping out of her shorts and taking off her bra, Veronica slipped under the sheets of the bed wearing her black tank top and her panties. She was too tired to be embarrassed, all she wanted to be was comfortable. She stretched out and relaxed against the mattress. She looked over and watched as Leon shimmied out of his police uniform, leaving him only in his boxers. While it was very pleasing to see, she couldn’t really react much. Her eyelids were getting heavier by the second. </p><p>Leon climbed into bed next to her then shut off the lamp on the nightstand. It spooked them both for a second, but they knew they couldn’t sleep with the lights on. So instead, they got comfortable and cuddled close with hesitation. After everything, they had been through, what even were boundaries at this point. </p><p>He draped an arm over her hip while she curled up against his chest, reveling in the warmth he gave. He smelled like the soap they had used in the shower and something else. It might have just been her imagination, but she could almost still smell the cologne from yesterday. It was nice. Veronica could feel herself slowly slipping away, so much so that she barely felt a pair of lips press against hers for a quick kiss.</p><p>“Goodnight, Vee,” he whispered.</p><p>“Night, Leon,” she yawned back. She shut her eyes and quickly spiraled into dreamland, him not falling too far behind.</p>
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<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The night is about to get a little more interesting in that small dingy hotel room.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is where the smut is! If you're not down to clown, stop here cause the fic is over. But really, the smut is super tame. It didn't really feel right to go straight into the kinky shit in the storyline, so I kept it simple. It's more lovey-dovey than anything. I'm still trying to get better at writing smut, but here goes lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Veronica sprinted through the bloody second-floor hallway of the R.P.D., legs feeling like they couldn't go fast enough. She turned in time to watch as a licker pounced at her, forcing her to hit the ground. She could feel its sharp claws tearing at her back as it flew over her, disappearing into the darkness behind her. She screamed as sharp pain surged up her back as she began to try crawling across the dirty wooden floor. </p><p>Footsteps from the other side of the hallway caught her attention then a familiar voice called out to her. Peering up she could see Leon running towards her to help when suddenly, Mr. X busted through the S.T.A.R.S. office wall and cut him off. He stumbled back as the giant cornered him against the wall.</p><p>“Le-on,” she gasped as she tried to get up, but the pain in her back was too much to bear. Her legs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds as they dragged behind her while she tried to reach him. She watched helplessly as Leon’s head was grasped by one of the Tyrant’s giant hands before he was lifted off of the ground. </p><p>His screams of pain were unbearable as she tried to crawl closer, blood seeping out of her back. She could see those giant grey fingers sinking deeper and deeper into Leon’s skin. It was turning red then it was turning purple. My god his head was about to pop!</p><p>“LEON!” Veronica cried, bolting upright in the bed. Gasping for breath, she looked around in fear and it took her a moment to realize where she was. Checking her surroundings, she remembered she was lying in bed at a dingy motel, hours away from Raccoon City. The horrors of a zombie apocalypse were far behind her. Turning to her side, she could see Leon’s sleeping form lying next to her. His rhythmic breathing reassuring her that he was alive. <em> That’s right. He’s safe. I’m safe.  </em></p><p>“I’m safe,” she whispered to herself, her hands reaching up to rub her face for comfort. She took a couple of deep breaths to ground herself as the dream replayed in her head. <em> What a terrifying nightmare! </em> Considering what she had been through, it was safe to say that this was expected to happen.</p><p>Blinking into the darkness surrounding her, she looked around to make sure the place was still secure. There were only a few cracks of light from the outside lamps peeking through the sides of the curtains on the window next to them, but it wasn’t much. Nothing seemed to have changed except for the spot she was laying in had a thin layer of sweat on it. Her back ached a little and after feeling around on the bandages, found them to be a little damp. She sighed in relief knowing that there was no actual blood. Her body was already beginning to feel the soreness of everything she had put her body through. </p><p>Feeling a little overwhelmed by everything, especially of her nightmare, she began to cry quietly. She still couldn’t believe that they had made it. They had not only survived the outbreak, but they had lived through multiple battles with Birkin, the Tyrant, sewer mutants, lickers, Ivys, and zombie dogs. They had watched people die in the goriest of ways, and the saddest. A part of her was proud of the resilience they showed and the courage they put in to get through it all. The other part wished they didn’t have to do it at all.</p><p>Despite everything, one of the best things to come out of this entire situation was meeting Leon. Not to mention she was able to become friends with Claire and Sherry, as well. But Leon was something else. They had saved each other countless times, so much so she wasn’t sure how she could possibly repay him. They bonded and shared stories of their lives in their downtime and grew to know each other. They became friends and in the end, maybe even something more. The thought that they could continue to do so made her feel a little better.</p><p>As she was beginning to calm down, a whimper from her side caught her attention. Looking over, she found Leon stirring in his sleep, but not in a regular manner. He began to cry out in fear and a sheen of sweat was forming on his face. Rubbing her eyes to pull herself together, she turned in the bed and gently patted Leon’s arm.</p><p>“Leon,” she whispered. “Leon! Wake up!” His eyes remained closed and his movements became more frantic. He must’ve been having a nightmare too. She shook his arm a little more, trying to wake him. “Leon! Hey! You’re dreaming, wake up!” The young man gasped, his eyes flying open. He flinched when she reached out to touch him again, his breath coming out in pants.</p><p>“Ah!”</p><p>“Whoa, Leon! It’s me, Vee! You’re ok! You were just having a nightmare,” she tried explaining. She quickly leaned over him to turn on the bedside lamp. The light was almost blinding for a second, but their eyes adjusted pretty quickly. That’s when she noticed he had a hand out reaching for Matilda on the nightstand next to him. <em> That bad, huh? </em> She couldn’t blame him. The magnum was waiting on the other stand near her side. Once he finally realized it was her and not a monster, he sighed in relief and relaxed. </p><p>“Veronica!” he breathed. “Fuck.” He began to sit up in the bed, wincing at the pain in his shoulder as he did so. He shut his eyes as he tried to will the imagery of the dream away, rubbing at his face to ground himself.</p><p>“Hey, it’s ok. We’re safe. <em> You’re </em>safe,” she spoke gently, trying to reassure him. One of her hands gently rubbed his back while she pressed soft kisses to his bare shoulder. After about a minute, he began to calm down a bit and finally opened his eyes to look over at his companion. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” he whispered. She shook her head.</p><p>“No! Don’t apologize! You can wake me up anytime you need me,” she reassured him. “Besides, I was already awake.” He was about to ask why when he noticed her own puffy eyes.</p><p>“Were you crying? Are you ok?”</p><p>“I’m fine, Leon. I...You weren’t the only one having bad dreams,” she sighed. Her partner reached up to cup her cheek, which she instantly leaned into. </p><p>“I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?” She glanced up into his eyes and shook her head. Those deep ocean eyes were sad and full of worry. But the bags under his eyes really showed how tired he was.</p><p>“Not really...Not right now. It’s too much for me right now.” He nodded then pulled her close to kiss her forehead. </p><p>“We should...we should try and get some sleep,” he suggested, even though he knew that it would be hard for both of them now. The clock on the nightstand read that it was 2 in the morning. They still had hours till the sun would rise.</p><p>“I’m not sure if I could. Can we just lie down and talk for a little bit?” she asked softly, her eyes pleading. She wasn’t ready to fall back into that scary state. Seemingly relieved at her suggestion he nodded. </p><p>The two settled back into bed then turned the light off, leaving them in darkness. He laid back down onto his back and let Veronica curl up into his side. He let the arm he had under her reach up to rest over her waist to hold her close while her fingers danced idly against the skin of his chest.</p><p>“If you’re ok with talking about it, what was your dream about? Maybe you’ll feel better if you do,” she asked, curiously. He hesitated. “You don’t have to. We can talk about something else.”</p><p>“You sure you want to know?” She affirmed with a hum. “I dreamt we were back in NEST and instead of holding up Ada from falling, it was you.” She glanced up at him to make sure he was ok. It was kind of hard to tell in the darkness, but she could kind of see that he was scared at the thought. “I kept trying to pull you up, but the bridge kept breaking. There was also a horde of zombies coming from the other areas of the lab and they were heading right toward us. They just kept getting closer and closer and I couldn’t-,” he was stopped by a hand gently reaching up to turn his face so that a pair of lips could meet his.</p><p>He didn’t fight it, if anything, he was glad she stopped him from spiraling. She pulled away and gently caressed his cheek soothingly with her thumb. Letting out a sigh, he took her hand and pressed the palm to his lips, giving it a sweet kiss before letting it go. Veronica let it fall back to his chest where she continued to let her fingers trace the skin.</p><p>“I’m sorry I asked,” she whispered. “What a terrifying dream.” She scooted a tad closer and tilted her head towards him. “But that’s all it was, a dream. I’m alive and there are no more zombies.” She pressed her lips against the side of his neck and began planting small kisses along the skin. His breath hitched at the feeling.</p><p>“V-Vee? What are you doing?”</p><p>“I’m trying to make you feel better,” she replied before going back to doing so. “Is this ok?” With that reasoning, he hummed in approval at the action, easily melting into her touch. Her lips followed the arch up to dot along his jawline then finally meeting back at his lips. Their lips melded together, lazily at first, but that didn’t last long. The heat was building between them as they tried to scoot as close as they possibly could in their position.</p><p>To make things easier on the both of them, Leon hooked his arm around her then rolled them over so that he hovered over her. Veronica squeaked in surprise by this before relaxing under him. She found she really enjoyed the feeling of his weight pinning her to the mattress. But the pleasure of it didn’t last long. Not even seconds later, he suddenly pulled away and sat back hissing between his teeth in pain. He reached up and grasped at his bandaged shoulder. </p><p>“Fuck!”</p><p>“Are you ok?!” the brunette asked worriedly, sitting up to see what was the matter.</p><p>“I’m fine,” he grunted. “I just put too much pressure on my shoulder.”</p><p>“Jesus Leon,” she sighed in relief before leaning forward to kiss at his bandages. “Are you sure you’re ok?” He nodded.</p><p>“I will be. I’m sorry. I kinda ruined the moment,” he muttered tiredly.</p><p>“No. It’s fine!” She paused as she thought about what to do. “How about we do this instead.” She pulled him by his good arm to lay back down onto his back then climbed on top of him by straddling his waist. The young officer bit his lip at the sight as his hands reached up to grasp onto her thighs. “Better?”</p><p>“Much better,” he sighed. She giggled then leaned down to kiss him again. Continuing where they left off, they let themselves go against each other. The kiss became more heated with each second as the desperation for each other finally hit them. Leon let his hands slide up to gently squeeze at Veronica’s backside, causing her to hum against his lips in pleasure. She pressed her self against him more and she could feel him growing hard against her heat.</p><p>Deciding to take some initiative, she traced her tongue on his bottom lip, pleading for entrance, which he gave without hesitation. Their tongues danced around one another playfully before battling for dominance. Surprisingly, she easily took control and to her, fuck it felt good being even just a little bit in charge. He seemed to agree as he let out a pleasured sigh. She took his bottom lip between her lips and tugged at it gently before pulling away. Instead of moving away, however, she dove back in to leave open-mouthed kisses along his jawline and neck.</p><p>Hearing his little hums of pleasure, she went back to the sensitive spot she had found before and began to suck a nice purple splotch there. He shivered at the feeling and tilted his head back to give her more room to keep going. She was happy to oblige. As she was leaving her many marks, the dull ache between her legs began to become more of an issue. To relieve some of the pressure, she pressed herself down onto his groin and found him to already be very hard. <em> Oh! He’s bigger than I thought! </em></p><p>Leon hissed at the feeling of her heat against him and reached up to grasp at her hips. He wasn’t sure if he was trying to stop her or to keep her going. She, on the other hand, wanted desperately to keep going. How far? She wasn’t sure she cared at the moment. She moaned softly against his ear and pulled away from his neck so that she could focus on grinding back against him. </p><p>“W-wait! Hold on-mm~” Leon stuttered out. His partner pulled away a little breathless but stopped what she was doing.</p><p>“What’s wrong?”</p><p>“Should...should we be doing this? Aren’t we going a little too fast?” She blinked down at him then smiled softly at his gentlemanly nature. </p><p>“I’m sorry. Is this too much?”</p><p>“Um…Well, I would be lying if I said yes, but…”</p><p>“But?”</p><p>“I don’t want you to think you have to do this, or that I don’t want want to take whatever we are slow-.” He was cut off by Veronica kissing him silly again. After leaving him breathless, she pulled away.</p><p>“You’re too cute, Leon. I really love that you care so much. It’s definitely one the aspects of you that I fell for. But, honestly, I’m ok with whatever we do. We can just keep making out and dry humping against each other like we’re teenagers if it makes you comfortable.” It seemed like he liked that idea coming from the pulsing from his groin against her.</p><p>“If...if you’re ok that,” he muttered, slightly embarrassed. <em> So Mr. Smooth Kennedy here is a little more innocent than I thought too. </em> She leaned back in and kissed the tip of his nose.</p><p>“I’m more than ok with that. Maybe taking it slow is best for now,” she replied. “You can take me on a movie date when this is all over.” They both chuckled at that but it made them feel giddy inside. Despite acting like two horny teenagers, they really liked the idea of going on a proper date.</p><p>“I can’t wait,” he sighed. “Ok. Sorry, shall we continue?”</p><p>“Absolutely,” she purred before diving back in to kiss him. His hands traveled back to her rear then he lifted his hips to press their lower bodies together. She whimpered against his lips and rolled her hips to grind back against his groin. She was already so wet, she wondered if she had soaked through her panties yet or if he could feel it. After all, the only physical things keeping them from actually having sex were two pairs of underwear. </p><p>Quiet groans and soft whimpers escaped their mouths as their bodies continuously rolled against each other. Hands reached wherever they could to touch and through this, Veronica found that Leon’s nipples were sensitive to the touch. After dragging her hands down his chest, her thumb accidentally flicked one of them and he let out a gasp. At first, she thought she had hurt him on accident, but the blush on his face said otherwise. He seemed to like it when she touched them and it felt like he got impossibly harder because of it. </p><p>With this in mind, they continued to grind against each other desperately, doing anything to add to the pleasure was a plus. A thin sheen of sweat had begun to cling to their skin, hair matting to their foreheads. The air was thick with tension and hot. The pleasure was building up more and more in their cores as they began to move faster. Any thought about the dangers they previously fought was out the window.</p><p>“I-I...I think I’m gonna-,” Leon stuttered out. Veronica took this as a cue to grind down against him a little harder and boy was she rewarded. Leon suddenly tightened his grasp around her hips and his head tilted back. His eyes were shut tight as his orgasm rippled through his body, his muscles contracting with each pleasurable sensation. His hips stuttered upward and she could feel his clothed erection pulse beneath her as he came. The husky moan he released shot straight to her core and the absolute bliss on his face alone could almost make her come too.</p><p>After a few more seconds, he relaxed back against the mattress feeling like he was high in the clouds. His lover leaned back down to kiss him, and although she was trying to let him enjoy the blissed-out feeling, she was still hungry. He kissed her back and sighed happily at the girl in his arms.</p><p>“Did you…?” he asked.</p><p>“No, but I can finish myself off,” she told him, sliding a hand down into her panties. But, to her surprise, he reached for her arm to stop her.</p><p>“Let me. Please,” he pleaded. The sound of his voice asking made her heart thump excitedly. </p><p>“Ok,” she whispered while biting her lip. They got into a more comfortable position with Leon sitting back against the bed frame while she stayed where she was on his lap. Then she took his right hand and led it towards her panties. At first, he let his fingers gently rub against the fabric and found them to be soaked.</p><p>“Fuck. You’re so wet,” he groaned. He had to be careful. He could get hard again if he didn’t focus. Then he pushed the fabric to the side and dipped a finger between her dripping folds. </p><p>“Oh!” she whimpered with her eyes shut. She reached down and helped navigate his hand towards the sensitive bud at the top. Once he found it, she gasped and nodded for him to continue. Taking the initiative, he gently rubbed his finger against it, watching as her thighs quaked against him. She mewled in pleasure and leaned forward to nestle her head against his neck as he did all the work. After a few minutes of this, he felt bold enough to slide his finger lower till it caught onto her entrance. Feeling this, she froze for a second, but mostly in excitement.</p><p>“Can I...?” he began, receiving a vigorous nod against his shoulder in return. With her consent, he gently prodded his finger inside her velvety warmth. It was tight and wet and it almost made him regret not going all the way. But he knew he could wait a little longer. She gasped at the intrusion, but the thickness of his finger felt good. But it also wasn’t enough.</p><p>“More,” she sighed. Her wish was his command as he added another finger and curled them against her inner walls. She moaned and began to move her hips, signaling for him to follow. With that, he began thrusting and curling the fingers repeatedly inside her core. He wanted dearly to repay her for everything and he wanted her to feel as good as he did. He leaned down as he picked up the pace to suck gently at her exposed neck, trying to leave a mark of his own.</p><p>Her body drowned in the pleasure he gave as the heat tightened in her core with every thrust of his fingers. She didn’t want it to stop, but she was already so close. Then to her surprise, Leon reached down with his other hand to rub at the bundle of nerves at the same time and that tipped her over the edge. She jerked against him intensely as she moaned breathily against his shoulder, waves of pleasure coursing over her. After about a minute, she sagged against him breathing heavily. </p><p>Leon pulled his hands out and found his fingers drenched in her juices. Feeling emboldened by that, he brought them up to his lips to lick clean in front of her, causing her to groan. She shook her head in disbelief.</p><p>“Mr. Kennedy, if you don’t stop, I’m going to go to town on you. Movie date or not,” she warned with a small smirk. He chuckled at that then wiped the rest of his hands off with the sheets beneath him.</p><p>“Was it good?” he asked, slightly nervous at her response. But his nervousness was unfounded by the enthusiastic nod he was given.</p><p>“Very good. I’m a little excited now for next time,” she sighed blissfully. He was too. They both got back under the sheets and settled back into bed. Veronica lay splayed out across his chest with his arms wrapped around her lovingly. Their legs intertwined happily beneath the sheets.</p><p>“I think I’m ready to sleep now,” he muttered totally blissed out and content.</p><p>“Me too. Hopefully with better dreams this time.”</p><p>“Yeah. Hey, Vee?”</p><p>“Hm?”</p><p>“I’m glad you’re my partner.”</p><p>“Me too, rookie. Me too.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <b><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25259434/chapters/61235908">"New Game [2nd Run]"</a> has been unlocked. </b>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>That's it! I hope you enjoyed this fic! If you liked it and also like Claire, visit the link just above this to find the counter story or any of the aftermath stories that'll posted. Thanks for reading!</p>
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